ENCROACHMENT ON footpaths is a “serious issue” and requires “strict action” from civic bodies but efforts to unclog the city’s pavements face several hurdles, including delay in action, according to experts and officials.
They were responding to a four-part series published in The Indian Express last week highlighting how there’s no place to walk in Pune. The reports identified key locations where pedestrian spaces have virtually disappeared and mapped several choke-points — from the city’s busiest market on Laxmi Road to the education hub along Sinhagad Road to M G Road in the Camp area, and a 13-km highway stretch on the old Mumbai-Pune road in Pimpri Chinchwad.
What it found was rampant encroachments by hawkers, very little parking space, a mess of wires and power supply boxes, and a civic body struggling to cope.
Pranjali Deshpande, who was part of the civic plan to design streets with focus on pedestrians, said the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) decided to redesign and develop 100 km of roads in five years starting 2015 but has been able to do hardly 30 km, including J M Road and Aundh Road. “Given the pace at which the PMC is taking forward the project, it will take more than 20 years,” she said.
Deshpande said the encroachment of footpaths by vehicles is a major problem and the administration “will have to be strict in action against parking of vehicles on footpaths”.
“Laxmi Road is in the central part of the city and there was a plan to redesign all the streets in the area considering the congestion. It has not taken up till now while the plan to make the Laxmi Road as a permanent no-vehicle zone is limited only to one day in a year,” Deshpande said.
Prashant Inamdar of Pedestrian First, who was involved in resolving the encroachment issue on Laxmi Road, said, “The PMC will have to be strict in implementing its plan of redesigning the area, rehabilitating of hawkers and making the road as a no-vehicle zone if it really wants to resolve the issue.”
When contacted, V G Kulkarni, in charge of the PMC’s roads department, acknowledged that the redesigning of streets with focus on footpaths has slowed down. “The project has been implemented in some stretches that already have wide roads and have given good results. But the roads in central parts of the city, including Laxmi Road, can be redesigned only if the land needed is acquired for widening the road,” the official said.
Ashish Mahadalkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner in charge of the area, said the ward office was taking action against illegal hawkers on footpaths and has now intensified the drive by deputing more teams. “We have also urged the legal hawkers to immediately inform the civic administration if any new and illegal hawkers come up in the area,” he said.
The official said the PMC’s plan of making Laxmi Road a no-vehicle zone continues to be opposed by traders who fear that they will lose business.
Officials at the Sinhagad Road ward office said they have taken up work to identify legal hawkers and firm up a rehabilitation plan. “More anti-encroachment teams have been deputed to keep a check on encroachment of footpaths. Drives are being done continuously to ensure hawkers don’t return back,” said Pradeep Awhad, Assistant Municipal Commissioner in charge of the area.
“The construction of a flyover is underway on Sinhagad road and the barricading has reduced vehicle lanes. The cycle tracks and footpaths have been removed at some places but they will be restored after the flyover is completed,” he said. “The parking of vehicles on footpaths is being tackled with the help of local police.”
On MG Road, Subrat Pal, the CEO of Pune Cantonment Board (PCB), had earlier told this newspaper that popular spots, such as Main Street and East Street, are surrounded by areas under the PMC and “hence, there is a steady influx of hawkers”. The PCB has a nuisance detection squad with permanent staffers and contractual staff but that has not been enough to take action at some locations, officials had said.
Asked about encroachers taking over the highway stretch in Pimpri Chinchwad, Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh said, “We have chalked out a plan for a makeover, which will be a major project. We have planned to put in place streetscaping principles, ensure un-encroached footpaths, set up cycle tracks, etc. We will also ensure that the carriage width of the highway is not reduced in any way.”
(With Manoj More)
