Pune : Wakad residents irked over vehicular parking on footpaths, immediate action sought 

Residents of several societies in Wakad such as Echoing Greens etc are troubled by the vehicles which are parked on the nearby footpaths, making it difficult for the residents to walk.

Speaking to Pune Pulse exclusively, Ayan Ganguly, a resident of Echoing Greens, Wakad said, “I have taken a video of the person who was parking his vehicle on the footpath. He was abusing me. I requested him to park his vehicle at a parking space & not block the footpath. But he said that since everyone has parked their vehicles on the footpath, even I will do the same. When I began to record the video, he started gathering other people who presumably parked their vehicles on the footpath. They said that this footpath belongs to them. As this footpath is opposite to their businesses, it is not a public property. They own it. These are basic facilities for citizens to walk.”

Siddharth Talokar, another resident of Echoing Greens, Wakad said, “This issue has been there several times. We have to face a lot of inconvenience & difficulty to walk due to vehicles parked on footpaths. We do not have ample space to even enter our society due to this. There are also garages nearby where their customers’ vehicles are on the footpath.”

Mohanish Umare, chairman of Echoing Greens, Wakad said, “The problem has been troubling us for 2 to 3 years now. The businesses located in front of our society at least listen to us. However, there is a business run just nearby which has completely occupied the footpath. For the entire day, their vehicles are parked on the footpath. We cannot walk on the footpath due to this. They do not even listen to us when we ask them to move the vehicles. They use the footpath as their own property.”

Navnath Khedkar, Pimpri Chinchwad Traffic Police Official, Wakad Division said, “We will send our patrolling team to inspect & take relevant action.”

Shreyas Vange