Pune: 'No Infrastructure, Yet NOCs For Builders' Ask Keshav Nagar Residents As They Slam PMC
Over seven years after being merged into the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Keshav Nagar continues to suffer from serious civic neglect. Despite paying taxes and witnessing rapid urbanisation, residents say they are left without basic amenities such as proper roads, water supply, and traffic infrastructure. On Wednesday morning, the area experienced a severe traffic gridlock, leaving commuters stuck for hours—just one example of the daily struggles faced by locals.
Residents have reportedly spent over ₹7 crore on private water tankers due to the lack of a reliable PMC water supply. Roads remain narrow and in disrepair, garbage collection is absent, traffic signals are missing, and encroachments continue unchecked. Adding to public health concerns, stagnant water choked with water hyacinth has led to a mosquito menace in the area.
Residents speak up
Chaitanya Sharma, a resident, said, “The Keshav Nagar–Amanora underpass was built but remains unusable as there are no proper connecting roads. The Keshav Nagar–Kharadi bridge has been under construction for eight years with no sign of completion."
"Meanwhile, builders continue to profit while residents live in worsening conditions. People feel frustrated and betrayed. The trust they placed in the administration has been systematically eroded," he added.
Sudhir Srivastav, Director of the Keshav Nagar Welfare Association, added, “There is no water, no proper roads, no traffic lights, and no Development Plan (DP), yet we are paying taxes. It’s been eight years, and we are still waiting for basic relief. If the PMC cannot provide infrastructure, how can it grant NOCs to developers?"
He added, "Traffic is so bad that cab drivers refuse to take bookings here. Now that schools have reopened, parents are struggling just to drop their children off. We even met the Police Commissioner, but the root issue is the lack of infrastructure—no traffic management plan can fix that.”
One-way traffic again?
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Amol Zende said, "The basic infrastructure is missing in Keshav Nagar, due to which there is heavy traffic. The drainage system is not proper, which is causing traffic, and the encroachment issue is also there. So, we have asked PMC to remove the encroachments and clear the drainage line in a month's time."
"We even made several roads around Keshav Nagar, particularly near Renuka Mata Mandir Chowk, one-way or completely closed for vehicular movement, but for now, we have stopped it because it was not solving the issue. But once the encroachments are cleared, the one-way traffic movement will be implemented again, and the issue will be resolved. We are working to better the traffic conditions there, but the rest of the civic development needs to be taken care of by the civic body," he added.
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