Koregaon Park residents say dept kept cops in dark about reserved plot that for years together it has not had any use for and which could have been given for police station
Koregaon Park residents say dept kept cops in dark about reserved plot that for years together it has not had any use for and which could have been given for police station
The German Bakery blast on February 13 last year changed the life of Koregaon Park residents, leaving them
without of a sense of security. But even as the anniversary of the terror attack nears, residents of the area are still waiting for the police station they were promised by the government on several occasion.
Reason? After all their tall promises, politicians holding important portfolios conveniently looked the other
way when it came to making available reserved plots that were under the control of their respective departments, in spite of the fact that the land had lain unutilised for long.
And now it is learnt that the Revenue Department kept the city police in the dark about a reserved plot of land near Lane No. 4 that it could have made available for the police station.
Even Congress leader Narayan Rane, when he was revenue minister, made statements saying land would be arranged for the police, but nothing came of it.
The plot in question ufffd Survey No. 112/2 near Suyojana society ufffd now sports a board saying it is reserved for quarters for revenue officers and other employees of the department.
Top cop's visit
Police Inspector M G Pathan of the yet-to-come-up Koregaon Park police station sent a proposal a couple of days ago stating that the Revenue Department plot was a feasible site for the police station, said sources.
"Police Commissioner Meeran Chadha Borwankar also visited the site the next day," said a source. "The new proposal has been sent after Borwankar's visit to the plot. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is going to visit Pune and review the situation about the availability of land for the Koregaon Park police station. He is going to be briefed about the new developments in this regard."
Asked about these developments, Borwankar sent a text message that said: "We are vigorously pursuing the matter. We have zeroed in on a few plots and are hopeful. I am not aware of Chief Minister's visit to Koregaon Park."
'Misled on purpose'
Yogesh Pingle, a resident of Koregaon Park, said misleading information about the ownership of the plot had been made to do the rounds so that nobody would think of asking the Revenue Department to make the land available for the police station.
"The said plot is of about 1.5 acres, it actually belongs to the Revenue Department, and it has been lying unused for several years. Rumours were deliberately spread that the land belonged to the military," Pingle said. "However, about two months ago, they put up a board on the plot claiming that a residential colony for revenue officers is coming up there."
Pingle said for eight years residents had been asking for a plot to be given for the construction of the police station.
"We have been pursuing the issue of making a land plot available for the Koregaon Park police station since 2002, but we were deliberately fed wrong information bout the Revenue Department plot," Pingle said. "That is why the citizens and even the local police were unaware for so long that the plot could be used to build a police station."
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