9000 citizens suffer due to nuisance caused by MIT students ; allege Kothrud residents

The group has designed a clear plan of action which will prove successful if they get the support of all stakeholders concerned.

Pune: Forty-Five societies have come together and raised concerns against students of MIT World Peace University college who recklessly drive vehicles, park vehicles in haphazard manner, celebrate late night birthdays, and are also allegedly involved in drunken parties in Kothrud.

A total of 9,000 citizens from societies which have formed the group ‘Citizens Forum at 11’ had a discussion to find out a way forward from the nuisance they are facing. The meeting was held at Girija Society auditorium hall on November 30.

The forum’s coordinator, Sandeep Bhadkamkar, said, “The residents are bearing the brunt of traffic jams caused by haphazard parking of two-wheelers and four-wheelers of students in front of bungalows and the main entrance of buildings. On top of that, reckless driving has made commuting risky. Worse still, late-night birthday parties and drunken revelry by trouble makers have made life hell for denizens who have to put up with their obscene behaviour on the streets.”

Bhadkamkar said, “Thousands of hotels, street food vendors and eateries have also proliferated in the locality due to students, leading to encroachment issues. We met the MIT-WPU management, including the registrar, and urged them to come up with short-term and long-term solutions for resolving these civic issues.”

Actions to be taken up by Citizen Forum at 11 (CF@11)

1. Human Chain on MIT College Rd & Bedekar Ganapati [BG] Rd as a protest against all MIT Institutions & their students-related issues during peak morning hours on a working day.

2. Action against all the vehicles parked haphazardly on both these roads on a given day so that the vehicle-owners understand the situation.

3. Meeting with PMC & Police officials to discuss short- & long-term measures either on december 9th or 12th.

4. Circulate contact numbers of all the concerned departments[like PMC, Beat Marshals, police station…] so that citizens can regularly register their complaints for effectiveness.

5. To find the difference between 1987 & 2022 possession of lands & infrastructure built by MIT.

The group has designed a clear plan of action which will prove successful if they get the support of all stakeholders concerned.