Cops blame civic body for sitting on proposal for parking bay; Lonavla Municipal Council says project on hold because reserved plot still in private hands
Cops blame civic body for sitting on proposal for parking bay; Lonavla Municipal Council says project on hold because reserved plot still in private hands
Parking woes will continue to haunt tourists visiting Bhushi dam and other picturesque places in Lonavla as the civic body is "sitting" on a proposal of a centralised parking bay in the city. The city police had recently proposed to the Lonavla Municipal Council that a plot of about around 1 acre, earmarked for the police station, be converted into a central parking bay. The cops are yet hear anything from the LMC. Lonavla has very narrow internal roads where parking is not possible, while the vehicles are not allowed to park on the National Highway-4 connecting Pune and Mumbai.
According to the city police, parking has become a perennial problem for the city, with more and more tourists thronging the city and choking its narrow lanes by parking their vehicles. Police Inspector (Lonavala city) Vishnu Pawar said, "There is no dedicated traffic branch for Lonavla, so the city police station has to chip in to regulate the traffic during peak hours. That is why we had asked the LMC to make arrangements for a central parking bay."
"Since there are no vacant plots left, we had suggested that a plot of about 30 gunthas (4o gunthas make an acre) reserved for the police station be used for the purpose. The LMC has not yet taken any decision on this," Inspector Pawar said.
Meeting sans solution
Superintendent of Police (Pune Rural) Sandeep Karnik had organised a meeting on July 8, 2011 at Lonavala. General public, LMC president Gawli, Deputy President Jayashree Kale, CEO Yogesh Godse were present. Citizens demanded a permanent solution to the traffic woes of the hill-station, but the issue is still far from resolved.
The Other Side
LMC President Raju Gawli said, "The plot reserved for police station is still in the possession of the private individuals and yet to be transferred. That is why the proposal is still pending with the civic body. "The number of tourist vehicles is increasing every year and to address the problem we had recently held a meeting with INS Shivaji and Amby Valley project officials. We have asked these establishments to provide us manpower, to which they have also agreed. INS Shivaji will give us 12 persons, while Amby will give six to help regulate traffic. This will help reduce the burden over the city police personnel," Gawli added.
(With inputs from Nikhil Mane)
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