Pasalkar’s memorial rented for private dos

PMC despatched a notice to the agree with managing the property after his successors lodged a plaint with the civic body, alleging the contribution of the great commander has no longer been upheld

Descendents of Vir Baji Pasalkar have alleged that the memorial constructed through Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to honour Pasalkar is not being put to use as in step with norms. They have claimed that the organisation that used to be assigned to control the property has did not do uphold Pasalkar’s work and the property is being rented out for personal programmes, maximum of which come with functions held through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. PMC has despatched a notice to the organisation after Pasalkar’s heirs lodged a complaint with the civic body. But officers from Shri Shivaji Raigad Smarak Mandal, which has custody of the memorial at the moment, has said that there's no mandate for no longer renting it to any organisation, including that they are doing so as they are falling short of funds and manpower.

PMC had constructed Vir Baji Pasalkar memorial on Sinhagad Road close to Rajaram Bridge to pay homage to the exploits of Pasalkar, a commander in Chhatrapati Shivaji’s army. The memorial used to be passed over to the Shri Shivaji Raigad Smarak Mandal via a resolution sanctioned through the general body in March 2018. The organisation used to be given the accountability of growing a memorial with more than a few artefacts related to Pasalkar and organise programmes to educate folks about his contribution.

Since the memorial most commonly remains closed for the general public, Sanjay Pasalkar, a successor of Vir Pasalkar, lodged a complaint with PMC, alleging that the park is not being put to its rightful use. Speaking to Mirror, Pasalkar stated “The memorial used to be meant to be sure that Pasalkar’s work reaches to folks. But none of the artefacts related to him were kept at the premises. The handiest object kept at the spot is the hero’s stone or plac (virgal), which used to be an initiative taken through his circle of relatives. We have controlled to acquire some receipts of the personal functions held at the premises. They fee someplace between Rs 1,200 and 1,400 to hire out the property. This blatantly defeats the purpose of the memorial.”

After the complaint used to be filed, PMC authorities inspected the website and claimed that they've found advantage in the complaint. Following this, a showcause notice has been issued to the trustees of Shri Shivaji Raigad Smarak Mandal. The notice states, “After receiving a complaint, we carried out a website discuss with to seek out that the memorial used to be locked. It has additionally been said that political occasions, birthday events and different functions are organised at the premises. Also, there aren't any artefacts at the premises to commemorate Pasalkar’s contribution. The memorial remains closed when there's no match taking place. This is violation of the norms discussed in the contract.”

The trustees have refuted the allegations. Trust chairman Sudhir Thorat stated, “We have simply won the awareness and will submit an in depth reply. These allegations don’t hang any water. We have advanced the memorial and are planning to begin a full-fledged excursion to educate folks on Vir Pasalkar’s contributions. We must stay it closed since we don’t have enough manpower or funds to run the excursion. But maximum programmes held are related to history.”

The Pasalkars have filed a second complaint with PMC at the similar factor. PMC authorities have, alternatively, said that they are looking ahead to a proper reply. Speaking to Mirror, Anil Mule, head of common administration division, PMC, stated, “We will take action handiest when they revert to our notice.”