Pune Sinking City?

(Published in The New Indian Express on 13 Oct. 2010)

Bikash Choudhury


I recently came back from a business trip from Pune; this was my second visit to the city in a gap of five years. Before boarding the train from Bhubaneswar for Pune; I had a pleasant memory about the city from my experience in 2005. Clean roads, greenery all around, looked though not crowded and crammed and less dust particles while traveling and no stink of urine and human waste. Actually it confirmed to its old personality of a retirement city with cool weather and metropolitan facility. But, after I landed on 3 rd Oct.2010 at Pune station the pungent odor filled my nostrils and started spoiling my earlier impression about the city. Next five days I was to see complete about turn of the city in all its aspects. Dange Chowke where I lived with a relative about 21 Km fro station was dusty and garbage littered all around. Shops lined the streets are filthy and stinky. While I traveled to Hadspar, the eastern part of city where Magarapatta SEZ is located; the 28 km distance show me absolute deterioration of the city. Garbage lying around, few natural drains/ rivulets encroached upon putting pressure on evacuation of storm water. As fate would have it, on 4th Oct. 2010 Pune received a rain fall of 181mm; highest in a century. That eventually left the Municipal Commissioner injured and a young scientist swept away along with her bike on that fateful night. I came back from Pune, a very sad man; looking at decay of an otherwise vibrant city. Can we do something about it?