Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) has decided to widen the city’s main roads. So far, three roads have been widened to 60 meters, resulting in the demolition of 2,622 properties within a month. However, the municipal corporation has not started removing the debris from any of these roads. Some property owners have begun clearing the rubble and collecting scrap metal at their own expense.
In the first week of June, the corporation demolished 418 properties on the Beed bypass. Notably, this operation was carried out without any police support. The demolitions were conducted with the help of the municipal ‘Nagrik Mitra Pathak’ team. As the operation slowed down, a brutal murder occurred in Mukundwadi on June 19. Within 12 hours of the incident, 229 illegal constructions in Mukundwadi were demolished based on police insistence. Amidst rising tensions, the municipal body conducted another drive to widen the road from Mukundwadi to Cambridge to 60 meters. This led to the demolition of 1,364 structures, the highest in the operation, so far.
On June 30 and July 1, 840 properties were demolished on Paithan Road. For the first time in the history of the municipal corporation, more than 2,500 properties have been demolished as part of a single campaign and the operation is still ongoing. Once the main roads are widened, internal and pending roads will also be cleared.
Upcoming roads on the demolition agenda includes Champa Chowk to Jalna Road, Aam Khas Maidan to Jatwada Road, Mahavir Chowk to Railway Station and Vasantrao Naik Chowk to Harsul, said the sources.
Debris to be cleared from Paithan road
Executive Engineer of the CSMC mechanical section, Amol Kulkarni said, “ The instructions have been given to remove the debris on Paithan Road. Accordingly, a dedicated team will be deployed on Thursday to carry out this work.”
Municipal body won’t stop
The CSMC administrator G Sreekanth has already declared that the municipal corporation will not stop now. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is a historical city and a tourism capital of the state, attracting lakhs of tourists daily. For this reason, wide roads are essential. The administrator also noted that the administration will not stop at just demolitions, service roads will also be developed.