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PUNE The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning a walking plaza to keep Sarasbaug – which gets more than 10,000 visitors per day – clean and tidy. Officials said that the PMC will plan a concrete concept within a week.
The move comes after the PMC’s anti-encroachment department ‘sealed’ all 56 stalls covering the road going towards the main entrance of Sarasbaug. For months, residents and the public had been complaining about the encroachment by these stalls which were spreading to capture nearly half of the road, on both sides, leaving no space for people to walk. Anand Dave, who frequents the place for evening walks or to enjoy an evening in the garden with his family, said, “The evenings are the worst, for these stalls mostly offer snacks and other eatables and some kids set up their tables and chairs covering almost half the road, leaving no space for the people to walk.”
Madhav Jagtap who heads the anti-encroachment department, said, “On May 14, the anti-encroachment department sealed all 56 stalls and took action against the owners as many of these stalls had illegally increased their limits to create restaurants with seating areas and also had their workers sleeping in these spaces. With their encroachment going out of hand, we have decided to create a walking plaza on the same road allowing these stalls to work in their stipulated areas, only after they provide an assurance letter.”
“We have asked the stall owners to give us in writing that they will operate only in the allotted space of the stall and will not encroach upon the road and will not have their workers living in that space. We have asked for assurance letters and only then will the PMC remove the seal on the premises,” Jagtap said.
“This plaza is still in the planning stage and we are in discussions with a route designer and the municipal commissioner. The plaza will be built along the lines of the Laxmi road walking plaza which holds fun events and has ample space for people to walk with their families and friends,” Jagtap added.
However, regular visitors expressed the view that the PMC should also look into long-term maintenance of the walking plaza. Rajendra Joshi, a regular at Sarasbaug, said, “The concept of having a walking plaza is good but just introducing it is not enough; the PMC should also maintain it and keep illegal hawkers away, looking at the encroachment by them on J M road and on the model ITI road in Aundh.”
Following the implementation at Sarasbaug, the PMC is planning similar walking plazas at Tulsibaug and Bibwewadi.
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