PUNE: The residents of Kalyaninagar and Yerawada have planned a sit-in agitation on October 30 citing no action taken by the civic body to check the dumping of debris at the Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary.
The residents alleged that Milind Gaikwad, who claims to own part of the land on the riverbank, had dumped so much debris that the natural nullah joining the river is blocked. Gaikwad told TOI that the land belongs to him and claimed that he was allowed to dump debris.
On Monday morning, a group of citizens walked across the green zone belt starting from Gunjan Chowk up to Kalyaninagar corner along the river to see the damage caused by the dumping of construction debris. “Civic authorities are aware about the reserved green zone land and the debris still is being dumped rampantly. Our letters to the PMC have not yielded any results and a mere fine will not help. As our requests have gone unanswered, we decided to hold this agitation,” said resident Sameer Nikam.
Meghana Baphna, who is among the core members of the Save Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, said the residents are disappointed as the civic body has turned a blind eye. “The the dumping in some areas will be impossible to remove even with heavy machinery,” said Baphna.
Gaikwad who also visited the spot on Monday morning, said, “The land belongs to me and I am the owner of this land. I admit I have dumped the debris because I have authority over the land I own.” When contacted, area ward officer Suresh Jagtap, said, “We have been issuing notices to the offenders, however, the dumping has continued. We will take action against the dumping.”
