Vetal Tekdi under threat

 

 

Pune’s draft DP will END YOUR MORNING HILL WALKS ON THE TEKDI !! : The PMC has released its draft DP for 2007-2027. It is a shoddy piece of work which needs to be opposed by every concerned citizen of Pune.
Activists, Town Planning experts and common citizens who have read the DP are unanimous in their opinion that this DP was drafted by Builders and Contractors for the benefit of Builders and Contractors.

Since you walk regularly on the Vetal Tekdi you should be aware of what the PMC has in store for the Tekdi in the new DP.

1. A 100 ft road has been proposed – from Paud Phata to Senapati Bapat Rd. This is in addition to the smaller Paud Phata – Bal Barathi Rd which is currently under litigation. It is the proposed High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR) for mass transport (Metro/Monorail).
This will start at Paud Phata (near the flyover, next to a proposed Metro station) , traverse through the hill behind Damale Path and Ashok Path, go halfway up the Law College side of the tekdi , behind BORI and the Bal Bharati buildings and emerge at Senapati Bapat Rd just opposite the Ambedkar Memorial hall.
It will mean the end of Law College hill as we know it – since they will have to either flatten a large section of the hill or construct another ‘khind’ for such a wide road at that height (around 1900ft MSL)

2. An Amusement Park at or near the Quarry. A large section of land near the Quarry has been reserved for creating an amusement park.

3. A concrete road going up the Tekdi from the Panchavati / NCL side which will meet another road going up from the Loyola side and will lead to this Amusement Park

This is madness! It will mean vehicular traffic on the tekdi, increased pollution as well as increased crowds. An Amusement Park is the last thing we need on the tekdi. We have fought pitched battles with the PMC in the past, to preserve the identity of the tekdi as a forest and not as a Park or Garden. With this DP, we now have another battle ahead.

Please mail me a line if you are interested in helping us fight for the Vetal tekdi. At the moment all that is required is to spread awareness about this issue and to draft letters of objection as well as conduct signature campaigns against this idiotic proposal.
If you’re want to be involved in the issue, I’ll mail you the relevant maps and other details and keep you in the loop regarding future efforts.

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