Support comes in to renew PMC contract

After children parents and activists came out in support against the playground at Garware Balbhavan being used for a memorial of late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray some wellknown persons in the city have come forward to demand that the Pune Municipal Corporation PMC renew the land agreement on a permanent basis Acclaimed astrophysicists Dr Jayant Naralikar and Dr Arvind Gupta and ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil are all for the administrators of Garware Balbhavan to renew the contract with the PMC for the next 30 years at least MiD DAY had highlighted on February 19 lsquoPlease donrsquot take our playgroundrsquo the pleas of hundreds of kids in the city and their parents and eminent citizens to PMC to spare the playground from change Facing flak The civic bodyrsquos decision to allot halfacre land adjoining the Garware Balbhavan for a cartoonist art gallery did not go down well in certain quarters of the city The PMC Standing Committee passed a resolution in January that the proposed art gallery would be named after Thackeray MiD DAY followed up with a report that civic body had changed its mind and was to shift the memorial and art gallery plan to the area near PMCrsquos storeroom and land adjoining Balbhavan ground The decision was taken in the PMC GB meeting recently ldquoWithout the playground Balbhavan canrsquot functionrdquo Shobha Bhagwat founderdirector Balbhavan said The agreement between Balbhavan and PMC was valid from July 1 1994 to June 20 2009 This is now posing an obstacle for Balbhavan to continue with activities for children Dr Narlikar and his wife Mangala are all for the Balbhavan getting the ground on a permanent basis ldquoWe are with Balbhavan which is doing a good work for children since the past three decades There is no reason for the PMC to refuse that it continues They should ensure that the contract gets renewed for the next three decadesrdquo Naralikar said The Naralikars had earlier extended their support to initiatives to keep the hills in and around the city green and sought that encroachments be removed from such areas Dr Gadgil said ldquoI am always supportive of a noble cause Playgrounds are not only the lungs of the city but Pune needs more such spaces Balbhavan is for children in the city and before any commercial activity begins to take hold of it Balbhavan ground should made secure from such forcesrdquo Need 30 years more Shobha Bhagwat Founder Director Balbhavan added that a letter with signatures of other esteemed supporters including veteran women activist Vidya Bal Sadhana Dadhich cartoonist S D Phadnis Mangesh Tendulkar Gandhian activist Shobhana Ranade among others would be sent to PMC Commissioner Mahesh Pathak seeking that the contract be renewed for the next 30 years When contacted Vidya Bal said ldquoWe are sure that the letter would serve the purpose and Balbhavanrsquos contract would be renewed without losing its existing ground We are prepared to agitate if the PMC turns a deaf ear to our demandrdquo u00a0Madhuri Sahastrabudde Bharatiya Janata Party corporator who runs a childrenrsquos activity centre lsquoBalranjanrsquo said ldquoWhy only 30 years I had proposed at the PMC General Body meeting that Balbhavan should be leased the same area for the next 99 years and that too with minimal chargesrdquo Letter sent to CM Indravadan Zarad an advocate from Surat Gujarat read MiD Day article and approached Shobha Bhagwat to show his support and sent a letter copy with MiD DAY to the chief ministeru00a0ldquoI have already written a letter to the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan who is also heading the Urban Development Department I have urged him in the letter not to put any kind of reservations on the childrenrsquos playgrounds in the state I will file a public interest litigation if my demand is rejectedrdquo Zarad said u00a0