Pune civic body seeks police protection to speed up work on pipeline near Bhama Askhed dam
Work has come to a halt due to agitation by farmers and issue of rightful compensation for land acquired
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has asked for police protection for completing the Bhama Askhed water pipeline project.
The Bhama Askhed water pipeline project is designed to meet the drinking water needs of 14.5 lakh residents of eastern Pune. However, agitation by farmers and issues of rightful compensation for land acquired for the plan are hindrances to the project.
Saurabh Rao, Pune municipal commissioner, held a meeting with Naval Kishore Ram, district collector, and rural police on Wednesday. The police have asked the civic body to start work from May 10 and adequate security measures would be put in place.
Rao said, “The cost of the water pipeline project is Rs 400 crore and at least 80 per cent work is complete. PMC is unable to complete the project due to repeated agitations by farmers.”
The state government and the civic body have accepted farmers’ demand of Rs 15 lakh per hectare compensation, but the latter’s demands keep changing and the work has come to a halt, Rao said.
Rao said, “The state is looking into the demands of the farmers. Also, the divisional commissioner and collector’s office are in talks with the agitating farmers. It is necessary to complete the work as the project is getting delayed. The water from the dam would meet the drinking water needs of people living in the eastern part of the city, including Ahmednagar road, Kharadi and Kalyaninagar.”