The 18m-wide two-way stretch passing through thriving neighbourhoods of Sopanbaug, Udaybaug and Ghorpadi and connecting the areas to NH65, BT Kawade Road is a microcosm of every problem existing in Pune today.
The city’s large difficulties ranging from encroachments, traffic congestion to garbage are found here, albeit amplified. Adjacent to the road flows a canal, from Khadakwasla to downstream villages, passing through Empress Botanical Garden in Camp — giving it the name Empress Garden canal.However, the canal is anything but that — what with water stagnating and stinking, filled with debris and waste to the extent of a bathtub being found in it once.
Residents of the societies situated along the road highlight a plethora of unresolved issues, which they have been increasing rapidly over five years now. The road is an encroachment spot, with more illegal vendors taking up space than legal ones. The problem intensifies when encroachers spill onto the road and cause a traffic issue. With stalls come eager customers and their haphazardly parked vehicles. This is the mess called BT Kawade Road.
Road works start, add to congestion
A large patch of the BT Kawade Road is dug up to convert the entire stretch from tar to cement. It is a new project launched by the PMC. It was scheduled to start and end last year, but has begun now.
“With none of the encroachment or parking issues resolved, how can they take this up? The road is already heavily congested. The construction work has led to a severe bottleneck issue,” says Ganesh Kawde, a resident.
The road is riddled with large and small speed breakers at uneven intervals, say residents. “It slows down the crawling traffic further,” says Kawde.
Polluted flows the Empress Garden canal
The Empress Botanical Garden canal, once a beautiful nullah flowing adjacent to the road, is a hotspot to dispose of garbage and unused household items. Often, construction waste also finds its way there.
Passersby lob garbage into the canal from atop the bridge that runs across it. Staffers of several small hotels as well as hawkers throw waste generated daily into the canal every night, not bothered to store it for legal disposal.
Local resident Rashmi Patil says that a large number of Indian parrots lived on the silver birch trees. However, the filthy environment has driven them away. “I have witnessed the problems grow. I complained to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) multiple times and they sent in staffers to clean the area. The very next day, the mess was back to square one. Officials promised they would get the canal cleaned every week, but we need more enforcement than cleaning. The nullah stinks as the flow has stopped and the garbage accumulates. We need dustbins in the area for proper disposal and more security.” It also runs through Sopanbaug, where residents have found submerged household items, including bathtubs. “I have seen bathtubs, clothes, furniture and other such items bobbing on the water when its level recedes. It is a menace and unsanitary,” said Bhairavi Aina, a resident of Sopanbaug.
Anywhere you turn, you see encroachments
BT Kawade Road battles illegal encroachments on both sides.
The road’s permanent stores have removable metal structures extending onto the footpaths installed outside the shops. Shopkeepers display their items on the stands to attract customers and it eats into the walking space, say residents.
The encroachments on the footpaths are in layers. Beyond the illegal stands of legal shops, are units of mobile phone cover stores, paan stores, fruit vendors and vegetable vendors. In the third line are vendors selling food items on the sides of the road. Customers of all these shops park haphazardly, and it is a seamless sea of people, vehicles and shops.
“From 5 : 30pm to 9pm, this stretch is extremely congested. The encroachments force pedestrians to walk on the road, which increases the risk of accidents. It is impossible to get a heavy vehicle like a bus through without causing congestion,” says, Ajay Kawade, a resident.
According to the residents here, the authorities need to conduct anti-encroachment drives on this stretch and keep doing them to ensure it has some effect. Otherwise the vendors just return a few hours later.
Haphazard parking chokes local spaces
Due to the encroachment, citizens park in front of the vendors who have already eaten into the carriage width on both sides of the road, where originally the corporation had designated parking spots.
Like most other city stretches, the road has an odd-even parking system with boards indicating the same. However, the rule is blatantly disregarded by almost everyone, say residents. “With encroachers on both sides, people haphazardly park anywhere they find space. It reduces the road space by half — leaving only about six metre road width for vehicles to pass through. If a bus enters the road, then heavy congestion breaks loose,” says resident Madhur Maheshwari.
Locals also say they have never seen traffic police officers in the area to help ease the snarls that they battle with on a daily basis.
“In my many years of residing here, I have never seen a police official present on this stretch, whether it is to fine and tow errant vehicles or ease the congestion,” Maheshwari adds. Often, because of the haphazard parking there is congestion even during non-peak hours, some residents add.
PMC officials don’t have much to say
The road falls under PMC’s two ward offices — WanowrieRamtekdi and Dhole Patil Road — divided by a bridge. A sanitary inspector from the Dhole Patil Road ward office says the canal is under the irrigation department and regular notices and letters have been sent to them requesting that the garbage be removed. “We don’t even get an acknowledgement letter, forget action. What do we do?”Some parts of the canal’s banks come under the Pune Cantonment Board.
Sandip Pawar, sanitary inspector, Wanowrie-Ramtekdi ward office says, “We have sent many letters to the irrigation department and urged them to fence some parts of the canal, which they did. That’s it. We clear the garbage from the banks, but it is not possible to clear the canal. Moreover, garbage from elsewhere has flown downstream and is stuck near the bridge since the water has stagnated.”
Other than the persisting garbage menace, encroachment officers are struggling to keep illegal vendors away.
“There are only four to five legal vendors, the rest are not registered. We inspect regularly, but we don’t have enough trucks to transport seized goods of encroachers. There is a highway spot which daily needs strict vigilance and the trucks are there. We will look into it again,” said Ranjit Jadhav, encroachment officer, Wanowrie-Ramtekdi ward office.
The city’s large difficulties ranging from encroachments, traffic congestion to garbage are found here, albeit amplified. Adjacent to the road flows a canal, from Khadakwasla to downstream villages, passing through Empress Botanical Garden in Camp — giving it the name Empress Garden canal.However, the canal is anything but that — what with water stagnating and stinking, filled with debris and waste to the extent of a bathtub being found in it once.
Residents of the societies situated along the road highlight a plethora of unresolved issues, which they have been increasing rapidly over five years now. The road is an encroachment spot, with more illegal vendors taking up space than legal ones. The problem intensifies when encroachers spill onto the road and cause a traffic issue. With stalls come eager customers and their haphazardly parked vehicles. This is the mess called BT Kawade Road.
Road works start, add to congestion
A large patch of the BT Kawade Road is dug up to convert the entire stretch from tar to cement. It is a new project launched by the PMC. It was scheduled to start and end last year, but has begun now.
“With none of the encroachment or parking issues resolved, how can they take this up? The road is already heavily congested. The construction work has led to a severe bottleneck issue,” says Ganesh Kawde, a resident.
The road is riddled with large and small speed breakers at uneven intervals, say residents. “It slows down the crawling traffic further,” says Kawde.
Polluted flows the Empress Garden canal
The Empress Botanical Garden canal, once a beautiful nullah flowing adjacent to the road, is a hotspot to dispose of garbage and unused household items. Often, construction waste also finds its way there.
Passersby lob garbage into the canal from atop the bridge that runs across it. Staffers of several small hotels as well as hawkers throw waste generated daily into the canal every night, not bothered to store it for legal disposal.
Local resident Rashmi Patil says that a large number of Indian parrots lived on the silver birch trees. However, the filthy environment has driven them away. “I have witnessed the problems grow. I complained to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) multiple times and they sent in staffers to clean the area. The very next day, the mess was back to square one. Officials promised they would get the canal cleaned every week, but we need more enforcement than cleaning. The nullah stinks as the flow has stopped and the garbage accumulates. We need dustbins in the area for proper disposal and more security.” It also runs through Sopanbaug, where residents have found submerged household items, including bathtubs. “I have seen bathtubs, clothes, furniture and other such items bobbing on the water when its level recedes. It is a menace and unsanitary,” said Bhairavi Aina, a resident of Sopanbaug.
Anywhere you turn, you see encroachments
BT Kawade Road battles illegal encroachments on both sides.
The road’s permanent stores have removable metal structures extending onto the footpaths installed outside the shops. Shopkeepers display their items on the stands to attract customers and it eats into the walking space, say residents.
The encroachments on the footpaths are in layers. Beyond the illegal stands of legal shops, are units of mobile phone cover stores, paan stores, fruit vendors and vegetable vendors. In the third line are vendors selling food items on the sides of the road. Customers of all these shops park haphazardly, and it is a seamless sea of people, vehicles and shops.
“From 5 : 30pm to 9pm, this stretch is extremely congested. The encroachments force pedestrians to walk on the road, which increases the risk of accidents. It is impossible to get a heavy vehicle like a bus through without causing congestion,” says, Ajay Kawade, a resident.
According to the residents here, the authorities need to conduct anti-encroachment drives on this stretch and keep doing them to ensure it has some effect. Otherwise the vendors just return a few hours later.
Haphazard parking chokes local spaces
Due to the encroachment, citizens park in front of the vendors who have already eaten into the carriage width on both sides of the road, where originally the corporation had designated parking spots.
Like most other city stretches, the road has an odd-even parking system with boards indicating the same. However, the rule is blatantly disregarded by almost everyone, say residents. “With encroachers on both sides, people haphazardly park anywhere they find space. It reduces the road space by half — leaving only about six metre road width for vehicles to pass through. If a bus enters the road, then heavy congestion breaks loose,” says resident Madhur Maheshwari.
Locals also say they have never seen traffic police officers in the area to help ease the snarls that they battle with on a daily basis.
“In my many years of residing here, I have never seen a police official present on this stretch, whether it is to fine and tow errant vehicles or ease the congestion,” Maheshwari adds. Often, because of the haphazard parking there is congestion even during non-peak hours, some residents add.
PMC officials don’t have much to say
The road falls under PMC’s two ward offices — WanowrieRamtekdi and Dhole Patil Road — divided by a bridge. A sanitary inspector from the Dhole Patil Road ward office says the canal is under the irrigation department and regular notices and letters have been sent to them requesting that the garbage be removed. “We don’t even get an acknowledgement letter, forget action. What do we do?”Some parts of the canal’s banks come under the Pune Cantonment Board.
Sandip Pawar, sanitary inspector, Wanowrie-Ramtekdi ward office says, “We have sent many letters to the irrigation department and urged them to fence some parts of the canal, which they did. That’s it. We clear the garbage from the banks, but it is not possible to clear the canal. Moreover, garbage from elsewhere has flown downstream and is stuck near the bridge since the water has stagnated.”
Other than the persisting garbage menace, encroachment officers are struggling to keep illegal vendors away.
“There are only four to five legal vendors, the rest are not registered. We inspect regularly, but we don’t have enough trucks to transport seized goods of encroachers. There is a highway spot which daily needs strict vigilance and the trucks are there. We will look into it again,” said Ranjit Jadhav, encroachment officer, Wanowrie-Ramtekdi ward office.