At least 2,000 residents of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad gathered on Sunday to protest against the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s riverfront development project on the city’s rivers, starting with the Mula River at Pimple Nilakh.
Citizens, environmentalists, and social organizations have voiced strong opposition to the project, staging continuous protests to highlight the importance of preserving riverside ecosystems.
During the protest, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Anna Bansode, met the agitators at the Mula Riverbank. Environmentalists informed Bansode about the illegal tree felling in the city and the activities carried out under the guise of the riverfront development project.
In response, Anna Bansode instructed the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioners to immediately halt the riverfront development project work.
A protest march was organized from Shahid Ashok Kamthe Udyan in Pimple Nilakh to the riverbed near the Pimple Nilakh crematorium, with around 3,000 citizens participating. A large number of ordinary citizens are joining the movement.
Admin pushing forwward the project
At the riverbank, tributes were paid to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. Additionally, homage was offered to the trees destroyed due to illegal tree felling under the riverfront development project, as well as to the animals and birds that lost their lives due to habitat destruction. The participants took an oath to protect the river, and a skit on the theme of river conservation was performed.
Despite no demand from residents for such a project, the administration is pushing forward with the river improvement project. While river pollution remains a pressing issue, only 5% of the project’s funds are allocated for river cleaning.
Furthermore, residents claimed that approximately 40,000 trees along the riverbanks are being cut down or destroyed under the pretext of transplantation.
“Many sacred groves along the riverbanks are also at risk of being destroyed. The project threatens to destroy biodiversity, narrow the riverbed, and increase the risk of flooding. The riverfront development project in Pimpri-Chinchwad is modeled on foreign rivers, but in other countries, efforts are now underway to remove embankments and restore rivers to their natural state. The protesters emphasized the need to prioritize the natural riverbed, biodiversity, and pollution control while implementing such projects,” said one of the participants.
Deputy Speaker Anna Bansode visited the protest site, discussed the issue with environmentalists, and inspected the riverbed. He stated that the illegal tree felling under the guise of the riverfront development project is wrong and that the riverbed is being narrowed due to the filling of earth. Consequently, Bansode instructed the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioners to immediately stop the river improvement project work.
Bansode assured that an inquiry into the matter would be conducted, and discussions would be held with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers before making a decision on the riverfront development project. He was also informed that illegal tree felling is occurring repeatedly, with criminal cases registered in several instances. Addressing this, Bansode said that strict action would be taken against those causing environmental degradation through illegal tree felling, and appropriate instructions would be issued to the concerned authorities.
