Key bridge & road projects in Pune stalled due to crematoriums coming in the way

Crematoriums are coming in the way of the completion of a new bridge connecting Kharadi to Keshav Nagar, Hadapsar and Manjari; and a road connecting Shastri Nagar to Yerawada junction.

The new bridge (24 metres wide and 200 metres long) connecting survey numbers 68 and 69 in Kharadi to Godrej Properties in Keshav Nagar was proposed in 2019. Six years later, the bridge remains 20% incomplete on the Kharadi side due to the presence of three cremation grounds. With work stalled for several months, residents are forced to take a 3 kilometre detour via Hadapsar and Keshav Nagar.

Over 40,000 people live in Keshav Nagar with around 3,000 youths from this locality working at the IT Park in Kharadi. Currently, they are forced to take a 5 kilometre detour via Mundhwa Bridge. Once the bridge connecting Kharadi to Keshav Nagar is completed, they will be able to reach their workplace in just 10 minutes. As such, completion of the bridge has become the need of the hour. So much so that former Keshav Nagar Sarpanch Sandeep Lopkar has warned that if the pending work is not resumed soon, a protest will be held.

Sarang Devare, deputy engineer of the road department, said, “Although the project was approved in 2019, work actually began in 2022. The delay was due to land acquisition issues. Now 80% of the work is completed. The pillar work has been completed and only two slabs are left. However the work has been stalled because local residents are opposing it due to the presence of three crematoriums of different religions. We are trying to talk to them and are hoping to resume and finish the pending work soon.”

Similarly, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is constructing a riverside road to reduce traffic jams at Shastri Nagar Chowk and Wadgaon Sheri Chowk on Ahmednagar Road. The road will run parallel to the Pune Metro line from Gunjan Chowk to Kalyani Nagar. The Vanaz-Ramwadi metro route passes through Yerawada, Kalyani Nagar and Ramwadi along the Mula-Mutha River. The new road is almost complete except for a 300-metre stretch which connects to Yerawada Chowk but is near a crematorium.

Nikhil Mijar, PMC’s traffic planner, said, “Most of the road is complete but about 300 metre near a crematorium is pending. This section will connect to Yerawada Chowk but the crematorium has halted the work.”

Currently, vehicles from Pune railway station, Khadki, and Vishrantwadi use Ahmednagar Road to reach Kalyani Nagar and Wadgaon Sheri, causing traffic congestion at Shastri Nagar and Wadgaon Sheri Chowk. Once the new riverside road is complete, vehicles can directly travel from Gunjan Chowk to Kalyani Nagar and further to Wadgaon Sheri, avoiding the heavy traffic.