Neglected By Authorities In Pune: Wanowrie Residents Suffer Amid Slaughterhouse Pollution Crisis Damaging Nala 

Renuka Suryavanshi 

Pune, January 29, 2025 – Residents of Nancy Garden Society and neighboring areas in Wanowrie are at their wit’s end, grappling with the unbearable stench and pollution from a nearby slaughterhouse. Despite years of appeals, site visits, and assurances from various authorities, no substantial action has been taken to address their plight.

A Persistent Problem

The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) slaughterhouse discharges blood and waste directly into a nalla flowing behind several residential societies, including Nancy Garden, Gulmohar Habitat, Kumar Gulmohar, and others in the Wanowrie region. The toxic effluent has polluted the area, causing severe distress to residents.

Residents have repeatedly contacted the Pune Cantonment Board, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and even escalated the matter to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Yet, their appeals have been met with inaction and empty promises.

Shivaji Shinde, Secretary of Nancy Garden Society, expressed frustration at the indifference of the authorities “The slaughterhouse continues to discharge blood and waste into the nalla. It is mandatory for them to have a proper waste disposal system, but nothing has been done. We’ve written countless complaints over the years, but they fall on deaf ears.”

When Pune Pulse contacted the MPCB official in Pune remained unavailable to comment on the issue. 

The contaminated nalla water not only generates an unbearable stench but also contributes to water pollution, affecting freshwater sources near Reliance Mall and the Salunke Vihar Road area.

Broken Promises

In April last year, residents escalated their grievances to the MPCB, which conducted a site visit and assured that the issue would be addressed. However, the promised action has not materialized. This bureaucratic buck-passing has left residents to endure health hazards and environmental degradation while the problem worsens.

Questioning Accountability

Why has there been no decisive action from the Pune Cantonment Board, PMC, or MPCB despite clear evidence of environmental violations? Why are residents forced to live in conditions unfit for human habitation?

The situation raises critical questions about the failure of regulatory bodies to uphold their responsibilities:

• Why has the slaughterhouse not been penalized or compelled to install proper waste management systems?
• Why has there been no transparent timeline for resolving this crisis?
• Who will bear accountability for the health risks posed to residents and the pollution of freshwater sources?

Demands for Immediate Action

The affected residents are not asking for the impossible—they demand clean air, safe water, and enforcement of basic environmental laws. They call on the Pune Cantonment Board, PMC, and MPCB to:

1. Immediately shut down the slaughterhouse’s illegal waste discharge system.
2. Install proper waste treatment and disposal mechanisms.
3. Launch an independent investigation into the environmental violations and hold those responsible accountable.