Pune : Baner Balewadi Residents To Hold Protest Against PMC On June 24

Frustrated by the apathy and negligence of the civic authorities, Baner Balewadi residents have decided to protest against the Pune Municipal Corporation demanding various facilities. The Balewadi Welfare Federation has organised a protest on June 24, 2023 at 5.30 PM at Balewadi Phata raising their voice demanding basic facilities, with water supply being on priority. 

The Baner Balewadi Welfare Federation member Ameya Jagtap told Pune Pulse, “We represent at least 300 societies from the area and almost all societies are facing water shortage. Even after the much hyped 24 by 7 water scheme, we are procuring private water tankers. We were told that the area will receive abundant water , but in reality there is hardly anything.”

He further stated that all societies are procuring private water tankers. Societies which were receiving water earlier have stopped receiving PMC water. We have a few but very important demands, tanker free area, complete footpath work and also restore the broken footpaths, complete road works, remove encroachments from footpaths, develop gardens in the area for the residents, install signages on footpaths for pedestrians, etc. 

Vandana Chaudhary, a resident of Prima Domus, a society in Balewadi said, “We citizens are appalled by the apathy of the authorities. We have been waiting for a solution for this acute water crisis for a long time. We are eagerly waiting for PMC water from the Warje pipeline as promised. Most of the societies have been heavily dependent on tankers which are very expensive yet compromise on water quality. We have been having health issues including stomach infections and skin infections due to this.  The authorities have mostly failed in providing proper infrastructure and established solid waste management. Many societies are waiting for years for metalled roads. Unfinished patches are a nuisance. There are no proper garbage collection and segregation points in balewadi. The garbage is scattered at different spots and mostly acquire the present footpaths & cycle tracks. Taking a walk in a few areas of balewadi is a filthy affair. Either there are no streetlights or these are non functional in a few areas. That leads to safety issues at night. The authorities should take responsibility and action on all these concerns with immediate effect. “

Chairman of F Residences society in Balewadi Madhusudan Bansal said, “There have been several promises made to the residents of our area but there has been no solution. We are procuring at least 25 tankers everyday to meet our daily water requirements which is now becoming unmanageable. We are honest tax payers and are getting negligible services in return. Water is a basic necessity. Other infrastructure in the area is poor too.”