In a bizarre twist to the city's ambitious Rs 998-crore Indora-Dighori flyover project, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has quite literally landed development at someone's doorstep, or rather run it through their house's balcony. The project, which includes two grand flyovers from Kamal Chowk to Reshimbagh Square and Bhande Plot Square to Dighori, now boasts a unique architectural feature, a direct landing into the Patre family's balcony at Ashok Square.
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Shrusti Patre, speaking to Lokmat Times, admitted the "minor inconvenience" of having a flyover pierce her balcony but also expressed helplessness. "We can't do anything because it's a government project," she said. When asked if the family had at least been forewarned, Shrusti confirmed they were served a notice only months ago. She said no compensation had been received by the family and nothing much had happened, though MLA Pravin Datke, on being apprised about the situation, was sympathetic to the plight of the family. Yet, construction workers continued mixing cement outside the house's metal grill.
Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited (NCCL), Contd the contractor for the project, could not be contacted. The company's safety officer R S Mishra declined having the project manager's contact details but helpfully clarified that the "family hadn't encroached illegally." The NHAI wanted to save as many houses as possible, he said.
Unfortunately, the Patres' house wasn't saved, but another wonder got created in Nagpur, a flyover with a 'balcony view', a new tourist attraction. Meanwhile, when Lokmat Times asked NHAI site engineer Manoj Ghode how this design miracle slipped past the initial blueprints, his reassuring reply was, "let me check the design first and call back later." The government engineer wouldn't pick up the phone later as if he had just discovered that the bridge was actually passing through somebody's balcony.
The Patre family, meanwhile, struggles to understand how to deal with a flyover which has intruded into their private property and sealed their fate in concrete. There is surely more than meets the eye for the construction couldn't have been carried out at such a huge scale without the designs being okayed by somebody and without the family being taken into confidence. But that story is still under wraps and nobody's talking. yet.