Green signal for bridge to beat congestion

To reach Pimpri main market,there are two routes,through the Pimpri flyover and from the Pimpri Dairy area. Citizens avoid the dairy area where they have to wait for trains to pass. “Once the bridge is completed,it will ease traffic,” said Aswani,adding that the green signal has been received for the project from the railways.

There is a parking space crunch at the marketplace. Aswani said a parking lot would start within a month close to the market. “The tender has been finalised and a contractor appointed. This will reduce chaos,” he said.

Haresh Bodani,general secretary,Pimpri Cloth Merchants’ Association,said that such announcements have been made in the past,too,but nothing had happened. Activist Vivek Wani said Hemu Kalani Market in front of the main market has been reserved for parking in the development plan but is occupied by shops.

“The PCMC is thinking of constructing a multi-storey building at Hemu Kalani market where the ground floor will have a parking lot and the second will have shops. The plan is stuck as some traders have gone to court. We are awaiting the verdict,” the Deputy Mayor said. To allow around 15,000 house-owners in Pimpri Camp to seek permission from PCMC for redevelopment,the proposal for “congested area” status would be raised in the civic general body meeting next week,said Aswani. “Houses built on small plots are irregular in size. If the area is declared congested,residents will get an opportunity to redevelop them,” he explained adding there was a provision for that in the revised development plan of 1995.