Bavdhan residents forced to travel 20 km to Pimpri-Chinchwad police headquarters for official work

Residents of Bavdhan are compelled to travel to the Pimpri-Chinchwad police headquarters in Akurdi for official work, despite being geographically and administratively connected to Pune. While most of Bavdhan falls under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), its policing jurisdiction lies with the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), causing significant inconvenience to locals.

Bavdhan was placed under the PCMC police commissionerate when Pune’s police jurisdiction was divided to create the new commissionerate. The Pune city police headquarters is 14.05 km away from Bavdhan, whereas the PCMC commissionerate in Akurdi is 20 km away. Once the proposed new PCMC police headquarters in Moshi becomes operational, the distance will increase to 26.05 km.

Vaishali Patkar, social activist, said, “The nearest police stations are Baner and Chatuhshrungi, yet Bavdhan falls under an isolated PCMC police station. This arrangement causes immense inconvenience to residents. The decision to place Bavdhan under PCMC’s jurisdiction was not well thought out.”

“Once the new police headquarters shifts to Moshi, residents will have to travel over 25 km, consuming an entire day just to meet senior officials,” she added.

Dushyant Bhatia, a member of the Bavdhan Citizens Forum, echoed similar concerns. “We are on the edge of PMC’s limits and still lack a full-fledged police station. While Bavdhan falls under the PMC, our policing is managed by the PCMC. The biggest challenge is coordination for civic issues like speed breakers and signage. We must liaise with both PCMC and Pimpri-Chinchwad police, which are located far away,” he said.

Resident Sanjana Mirikar highlighted the difficulties in accessing senior police officers. “While routine work like passport verification is done at the Bavdhan police station, meeting senior officers—from the deputy commissioner to the police commissioner—is a major challenge. Most residents have to escalate issues when local police cannot resolve them, and this requires extensive travel. Once the headquarters shifts to Moshi, the situation will become even worse,” she said.

Sandeep Doiphode, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), PCMC, said that he would not comment on the issue as the issue is subject to the state government.

A senior PCMC police official said residents would need to take up the issue with the state home department, which could then be addressed through discussions involving Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad police officials along with local representatives.

“If Bavdhan is brought under Pune city police, it would be more convenient for everyone. Citizens should raise the issue with the government and both police commissioners to work out a solution,” the official said.

Despite repeated attempts MLA and state minister Chandrakant Patil who represents the area in the state assembly could not reached for comments.