Pune: Citizens Want Candidates to Talk About Their Stand on Vetal Tekdi

The proposed road from Bal Bharti to Puad Phata road is set to become a hot topic in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Pune. The 2.1 Km Road was initially proposed by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) development plan in 2007 and has since faced strong opposition from citizens and environmental activists. The road is planned to cut through Vatal Tekdi which is considered to be the lungs of Pune with abandoned green cover and home to diverse flora and fauna.

The Vetal Tekdi has been the subject of long-standing protests by Punekars, who recently commemorated the first anniversary of the long march on April 15. Citizens participated in the protest march in large numbers and with slogans of ‘tekdi vachava, khurchi vachava (save the Vetal hill, to save your political seat)’ echoed in the massive rally in opposition to three proposed projects in the area. The protesters had also pressed for the hillock to be declared a no-construction, no-development zone. The rally which was organized by the Vetal Tekdi Bachav Kruti Samiti (VTBKS) received a massive response from the citizens last year.

Now that the elections are around the corner the VTBKS has declared that they will support the candidate who will save the Veal Tekdi. Earlier the now BJP Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni had supported the VTBKS initiative and citizen's demands to stop the construction of the road on Vetal Tedki while other BJP leaders were seen in support of the road. Taking the citizen's demands into consideration the then Guardian Minister of Pune Chandrakant Patil had ordered the PMC to temporarily stop the construction on the Tekdi in April 2023.

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VTBKS expectations from the contesting LS candidates

The VTBKS has released a 'Citizen in which it clearly stated that the elected MP must oppose the projected Balbharati to Paud Phata road project and fight for Pune's tekdis. In line with the draft list of natural heritage sites established by the Maharashtra government in 2000, they stress the significance of including Vetal Tekdi as a "Natural Heritage" site in Pune's Development Plan.

Sushma Date, a member of Save Vetal Tekdi Foundation while talking to LokmatTimes.com said, “The candidates contesting the elections should consider the climate change factor as a priority issue as it is affecting us directly. The Vetal Tekdi issue will be a topic for all the upcoming elections. Building a road through the hillock will hamper the biodiversity and the groundwater levels in the city. We are already on the verge of a looming water crisis. We will vote for the candidate who will champion our demand of that the Vetal Tekdi should be declared as the national heritage. We need to consider concerns like increasing temperatures, clean air, safeguarding green places, and most importantly, water and these issues should be mentioned in the manifestos of all the political parties.”

Pune Lok Sabha Candidates opinion 

Bhartiya Janta Pary (BJP) candidate Murlidhar Mohol while talking to LokmatTimes.com said, “ The construction of the road will only be done after detailed discussion with the citizens. I have earlier also said that nothing will be done against the will of the citizens of Pune. I have earlier visited the Vetal Tekdi with the citizens and orders were given to halt the construction activity on the hillock and it has not been started since then.”

Meanwhile, Congress Candidate Ravindra Dhangekar while talking to LokmatTimes.com stated that, “The tekdis of Pune should be saved. The decision to construct Balbharti to Paud Phata road cutting through the hillock will negatively impact Pune's biodiversity. The citizens and environment experts should be taken into consideration before taking any decision.”

 The Vetal Tekdi issue

The PMC had approved three projects in the development in 2007 to curb traffic congestion. Since then, the citizens and environmentalists have been protesting against the construction of the road which puts the biodiversity of the hill at stake. The Balbharti Paud Phata Road, the High-Capacity Mass Transit Route project (HCMTRP), and the two tunnels (Sutardhara, Gokhale Nagar, and Panchavati exits) are the three projects that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has planned to which the citizens have protested. A massive protest was organized by the VTBKS last year on April 15 to oppose the construction on the hillock. The VTBKS argued that the project would significantly damage the green cover of Pune.

A yellow ribbon campaign was organized by the demonstrators with slogans of ‘save vetal tekdi’. About 2,000 people gathered at Maruti Temple on the tekdi as part of the yellow ribbon campaign, which was launched on August 7, 2022, to tie yellow ribbons to trees composed of biodegradable materials. Artists who attempted to communicate the message through paintings, street dramas, and Kathak performances were also a part of the awareness campaign. As a component of the same initiative, Pune's marathon organisation hosted the 'Run for the Hills' marathon on Vetal Tekdi in October. It was referred to be a "green run".