Saplings wither as PMC struggles with co-ordination

Tree Authority had no thought about garden department’s drive on Prabhat Road; street department buries the vegetation underneath rubble

The work of Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) unsynchronised departments was once not too long ago witnessed within the blame game that ensued over FC Road’s challenge. The street and water departments, along with traffic law enforcement officials, had denounced one another over lack of coordinated effort. Another such situation has come to fore on Prabhat Road, where 50-60 saplings planted by way of the garden department had been destroyed by way of the road department while running within the house. They had been buried underneath the rubble, besides some had been hacked.

Once this ordeal surfaced, a resident of the area, Mithali Paranjape, approached the Tree Authority head, complaining in regards to the deficient care in regards to the saplings that have been planted with “great enthusiasm”. She was once shocked to be told that Ganesh Sonawane, who heads the Tree Authority, was once now not conscious about saplings planted within the house.

She said, “I sought after to officially bitch in regards to the vegetation that died or had been on the verge of dying due to the continued work on Prabhat Road. When I approached Sonawane — who takes care of the area — he said he's ignorant of the selection of saplings planted.”

For her, it was once displeasing to understand that their efforts have gone to waste, particularly when the plantation was once carried out within the sizzling sun. “They should had been planted in June — all through the onset of the monsoon — as they're possibly to wither now. It is surprising to be told that the 2 departments don't work in sync. I am clueless on how I am supposed to take the issue ahead when the highest officials themselves know little about what's going on.”

Another Prabhat Road resident, Jyoti Sabade, rued the truth that multiple saplings are dying every day. “While we water those vegetation as much as we will be able to, there's little we will be able to do after such heinous acts by way of the road department. The construction is of no need if we are failing to conserve our bushes. In the method of concretisation, we are dropping our green cover,” she added.

When Mirror approached Sonawane to hunt more details on the issue, he said that he didn't have a lot data at the present time. “I can have to test with the opposite officials to test when and how many had been planted,” he said.

The street department, which has come underneath fire for recklessly plundering the fairway cover of the area, also spoke back Mirror’s queries on the issue. Head Aniruddha Pawaskar said, “We observe a process all through ongoing projects. We don't have a tendency to cut or relocate any tree or sapling with out Tree Authority’s consent. This will have been one case and will get it inspected on the soonest.”