Civic administration, police insist on no digging of roads for pandals, but Rajpal says Ganeshotsav comes just once a year
Civic administration, police insist on no digging of roads for pandals, but Rajpal says Ganeshotsav comes just once a year
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The PMC is finding it difficult to enforce its rule of pothole-free (PFP) pandals for this year's Ganesh festival. On the one hand, PMC Commissioner Mahesh Zagade and Police Commissioner Meeran Borwankar insist on not digging roads for erecting pandals, while on the other, Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal has openly given clean chit to all small and big mandals by allowing them to erect structures without following the PFP rule.
Rajpal ruled out the idea of PFP in the recent general body meeting. He argued that Ganesh festival came just once a year and was an occasion for big celebrations, so such stringent rules should not be imposed on the mandals.
Besides, Ganesh mandals are also unhappy about PMC denying permission to erect box arches for their pandals.
Dhiraj Ghate, president, Sane Guruji Tarun Mandal, said the PMC and the police were denying advertisement revenue to the mandals. "The box arches are useful to stick advertisement of the sponsors," he said.
Ghate is supported by Pramod Kondhareu00a0 of Natu Baug Mandal, Ajay Shinde of Khalkar Chowk Mandal and Kailas Kamble of Garud Ganpati Mandal.
Vivek Kharwakar, Additional City Engineer (Roads/), PMC, said,u00a0 "PMC has an anti-encroachment unit to monitor the pandals but their visit hardly makes any difference as over 200 mandals in the city have already started erecting their structures. Our road engineers are there to help any mandal that wants to construct pandals without digging up the roads," Kharwadkar said.
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