PUNE: Over 1,300 citizens have signed an online petition appealing to the civic authorities to take immediate action to fix a pothole- ridden stretch that connects Ivy Estate, a township in the vicinity, to Ahmednagar Road.
Wagholi is one of the 23 villages included within Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits earlier this year. Many people have bought flats in this area of Wagholi thinking that it is a growing residential hub.
Residents said that they felt that the civic amenities, including the condition of the road would improve, but there has been no such development. There are more than two feet deep potholes, which makes travelling on this road for senior citizens, patients and pregnant women very dangerous, they added.
Anshu Kumar, who launched the petition on Change.org earlier this week, said, “My wife was advised bed rest during her pregnancy in 2018, but venturing out for check- ups to the doctor was nothing less than a nightmare for us, even then. We have been waiting for this road to be fixed for a long time, so I thought of starting a plea online It has received a lot of support from the residents of the area.”
Ravi Bhushan, another resident who digitally signed the online petition, said, “Over 10,000 people are living in the township. My wife, who rides her scooter to work, often loses control of the vehicle and falls due to the potholes. She has injured herself twice during the last year due to minor accidents on this stretch.
There are no street lights on this patch during the night, making it even more dangerous.”
Unexpected repairs to vehicles are also a part of family budgets here.
“I have to spend thousands of rupees to repair my car due to the damage done because of driving on this road. I need to use this route regularly. The highway and the internal road levels are not aligned, and the bumper of my car gets damaged. The unevenness damages the engine and shock absorbers of two-wheelers as well,” Siraj Dokadia, another resident, said.
