Prospering neighbourhood in Pune, overlooked amenities

Panel No 17 of the newly-constituted wards for the February 2012 civic elections features two proactive citizens groups —  the Kalyani Nagar Resident’s Association (KNRA) and the Karne Path Parisar Samiti (KPPS).

These groups have been in the forefront in trying to get the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the area’s corporators to tackle the most important issues plaguing their areas. But over the years, having received little or no support, the KPPS has threatened to boycott the 2012 elections, while the KNRA has mooted completion of civic works in their areas by collecting funds from residents.

Parking by IT personnel
Kalyaninagar residents have been at the receiving end of PMC’s lack of will to enforce proper parking regulations by commercial establishments, especially IT companies. In September 2010, DNA had pursued the case of illegal parking on the South Avenue Road by HSBC and PMC removed the pay-and-park from the stretch and, upon insistence by the traffic police, also converted the area into a no parking zone.

“Now these IT people have started parking their vehicles inside the narrow lanes of the locality, causing tremendous inconvenience to residents,” said KNRA member Dolly Raizada. KPPS members had been trying to get trucks parked illegally on Karne Path removed and have achieved a small measure of success through dialogue.

Schools
School buses parked on roadsides throughout the day are also a major cause of traffic snarls in Kalyaninagar. “Bishop’s Co-ed School principal’s response was not at all forthcoming. It takes us almost 10-20 minutes to cross the school to approach Ahmednagar Road during 2-2.30 pm, when the school closes for the day,” said Anuradha Agarwal, a KNRA member.

“Now Nagarvala School has also started parking its vehicles on the road,” said KNRA chairman, Surendra Kumar Agarwal. Many vehicles were seen parked near the Yerawada police station on Don Bosco Road. It is strange that while the traffic police efficiently despatches tow away vans to areas in its jurisdiction, it turns a blind eye to the illegal parking in front of their complex.

Encroachment
Another major cause for concern is the extent of encroachments of open spaces in buildings and footpaths in this panel by hawkers, vendors and restaurants. Four ‘authorised’ hawkers exist at Jagtap Chowk on Don Bosco School Road to facilitate the snack needs of IT companies. Allowed only to serve ‘readymade’ snacks as per the terms of the licence given by PMC, the stalls have been cooking in the area, and also have a water connection.

Two of the stalls also sell tobacco products in contravention to the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, wherein tobacco products cannot be sold 91.44 metres (100 yards) from a school.

“This stall is 72 metres from the school as measured by the police,” said a resident. Neither the PMC nor the police have shown any will to take appropriate action, since all the stalls are owned by Congress workers. Despite engaging with the stall owners and Congress MLA Abhay Chajjed, the impasse has not been broken. Members of the KPPS in a letter dated October 16, 2011 to the municipal commissioner Mahesh Phatak have threatened to boycott the forthcoming elections if the stalls are not re-located and the area converted to a no hawker zone.

In the Kalyaninagar area, various stalls have taken custody of almost every available stretch of the footpath on Central Avenue. The Lifestyle Road going towards Bishop’s School has also become a veritable ‘khau galli’. Solid waste management expert and Kalyaninagar resident, Sheila Christian, pointed to an illegal slum coming up near Mariplex on the banks of the river on PMC land reserved for garden and playground.

She also raised the issue of illegal temples near Mamta Store, on East Avenue, opposite Silver Oak and on Central Avenue near Megamart. The KPPS wanted a removal date for temporary hutments in Jayprakashnagar lane.

Footpaths
It was Thomas Robert Dewar who said, “There are two kinds of pedestrians - the quick and the dead.” A walk on the footpaths constructed in the Kalyaninagar area reiterates Dewar’s point. Haphazardly constructed, with bad elevations, wrong heights, broken and uneven, with rubble-ridden edges, footpaths in the area also do the disappearing act, suddenly leaving the walker in the middle of a street. This attitude has prompted KNRA to take up small civic issues with their own funds.

Ahmednagar Road
Called the ‘death trap’ by almost every resident of the area, the traffic issues of this 120 feet road has been consistently ignored. The stretch is a nightmare for pedestrians, especially for those attempting to cross the road any time of the day or night.

Walkers cross this road with grave risk to their lives as the entire stretch is also devoid of speed breakers, zebra crossings and safety nets (islands) for pedestrians. The traffic signal at Shastrinagar Chowk gives just 12 seconds for pedestrians to cross this wide stretch from one end to the other, expecting them to sprint across. Pitifully, this signal is housed right next to the Yerawada police station that evidently is not concerned about pedestrian safety and is only responsible for managing traffic. The KPPS demands a dedicated timer pedestrian signal here.
Policy changes

Residents lament the illogical pay-and-park policy of the PMC, especially on roads that clog traffic during peak hours. The Lifestyle Road in Kalyaninagar is a case in point. This road is the main road connecting Koregaon Park, Mundhwa areas to Ahmednagar road and airport.