Pimpri-Chinchwad grappling with mounting civic issues

Pimpri-Chinchwad, once a residential and Information Technology (IT) hub, is now facing serious civic issues including water shortage, traffic congestion, rising pollution and crime, and limited job opportunities that have left residents frustrated and others unwilling to move to this area.

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar highlighted these concerns in his speech on Thursday and pointed out that the deteriorating living conditions are prompting calls for urgent intervention.

Pawar said that the earlier government had taken efforts to develop Pimpri-Chinchwad as per the vision of Yashwantrao Chavan. “Efforts were made to bring industries here, create more jobs, and establish the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). The focus was on improving the condition of this area. Today however, the picture seems to have deteriorated,” he said.

Pawar said he has lost touch in Pimpri-Chinchwad but what is increasingly evident is the lack of basic necessities like water, electricity and infrastructure. “This area was once known nationwide for IT companies. But today, nearly 30 to 35 companies have left primarily because we could not provide them with the facilities they needed. This has destroyed the livelihood of thousands of people. This is not an image that suits us and it must be rectified,” he said.

Echoing the same concerns, Dattatray Deshmukh, a citizen, said, “Citizens here are deprived of basic amenities like good roads, water, and waste management. Public amenities like schools, hospitals and gardens have become a luxury for residents. Societies have to spend lakhs of rupees just on water and the civic body and elected members are unable to provide a solution for this perennial problem.”

Another resident Rohan Ughade said, “The rising crime rate has made us feel unsafe in our own neighbourhoods. Authorities need to take stricter measures to ensure our security. This rise in crime is related to the unemployment in the area.”

Priya Jadhav, a working professional, said, “Traffic congestion is eating up hours of our day. Commuting to work has become a nightmare and it is affecting our productivity and mental health. However, elected members seem to be neglecting these issues for long.”

When contacted, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Mahesh Landge said that a large number of citizens are coming to his (Bhosari) constituency to settle down just because of its development and infrastructure. “We have been able to solve the water shortage issue with the Bhama Askhed project. There have been major developments like setting up of the College of Engineering Pune Technological University in the constituency and the arrival of the IIM Nagpur expansion is eagerly awaited. The Bhosari constituency will soon get a court building, 850-bed hospital in Moshi, and Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate in Chikhali. All these developments have taken place in the past 10 years,” Landge said.