Demolition of Sadhu Vaswani RoB faces delay
The CR has announced a 45-hour block for demolition of the remaining part of the old Sadhu Vaswani flyover which connects Queen’s Garden and Pune Station
While the Central Railway (CR) has announced a 45-hour block for the demolition of the remaining part of the old Sadhu Vaswani Railway Overbridge (RoB), the railway block and consequently the demolition faces delay due to increased traffic during the Christmas holiday season. Another obstacle is the relocation of slumdwellers under the flyover with 40 slumdwellers in the area still to give their consent to the relocation to the Hadapsar slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) scheme.
The CR has announced a 45-hour block for demolition of the remaining part of the old Sadhu Vaswani flyover which connects Queen’s Garden and Pune Station. There will also be a two-hour block daily, affecting the Pune-Miraj and Pune-Hadapsar routes. However, the railway block may face delay due to increased traffic during Christmas holiday season.
Abhijit Ambekar, executive engineer of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) project department, said, “The CR’s main office has given ‘in-principle’ approval for the railway block to demolish the remaining part of the Sadhu Vaswani RoB. The CR has agreed to provide a 45-hour block for the demolition work.”
“We have requested that the block begin on December 23. The CR office has authorised the Pune division to finalise the schedule. We are hoping to be able to implement the railway block in the last week of December,” Ambekar said.
The Sadhu Vaswani RoB is more than 50 years’ old and has been declared unsafe for heavy traffic. The demolition of the old bridge in Koregaon Park began in July this year. According to the PMC, the total length of the bridge is 640 metres consisting of 17 spans from the Koregaon Park side under civic limits. These spans have been removed and excavation and foundation work for the new bridge has started. The PMC has been working with the railway administration and police to ensure minimal disruptions.
The other obstacle in the demolition of the remaining part of the flyover is the slumdwellers staying under the flyover, with many of them still to give their consent to the relocation to the Hadapsar SRA scheme. The PMC has held meetings to address this issue and is now considering taking help from the police to forcibly relocate the remaining slumdwellers.
Hemant Kurulkar, assistant municipal commissioner of the Dhole Patil Road ward office, PMC, said, “There are 80 slumdwellers near the RoB. Agreements have been completed with 40 of them, and the remaining agreements will be finalised in the next few days. Most of the slumdwellers will be relocated to the Hadapsar SRA scheme.”
“Some slumdwellers have raised objections and submitted applications to the PMC. A hearing has been scheduled at the site next week. We need to complete the relocation as soon as possible since the railway has scheduled a block for the demolition work. If the slumdwellers resist, we may have to take possession of the land forcibly,” Kurulkar said.
