350 houses, shops face demolition in Katol road widening project

Nagpur: Over 350 residential buildings and shops situated at Gittikhadan, Hazaripahad, Friends Colony, Vayusena Nagar, KT Nagar, Narmada Colony and Vrindavan Colony in West Nagpur are facing the threat of demolition due to widening and concreting of Katol Road.
BJP West Nagpur MLA Sudhakar Deshmukh and Gittikhadan-Borgaon-Friends Colony Shopkeepers Association have decided to oppose the project proposed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Deshmukh told TOI they will request union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari to direct the NHAI for only concreting the road instead of widening.

“Gadkari has organized meeting in this regard on March 17. NHAI has proposed to widen and concretize road from Vidyut Bhavan/MSEB Square up to Katol. The stretch from MSEB Square to Ring Road is in city limits. At present, the road’s width is 30-35m. NHAI proposed to widen it to 45m and will require 10-15m on both sides of the road. Over 350 houses and shops are situated in this area. NHAI should drop the widening plan,” he said.

Deshmukh said NHAI restricted itself to 30m in some stretch beyond New Katol check post that falls outside city limit but the proposed 45m is within the city limit. “Land on some stretch beyond New Katol check post belongs to Forest department and under Gorewada forest project. Therefore, NHAI is not going to widen that stretch. If forest is important, then why not residential buildings and shops,” he said.

Rajesh Lanjewar, treasure of Gittikhadan-Borgaon-Friends Colony Shopkeepers Association, in a press conference on Saturday, said over 350 families will become homeless and jobless due to the project. “The road was widened in 2003. Many had faced huge losses and have managed to establish themselves in these 15 years. Any project should be for welfare and development of the people and not for vanishing them,” he said.

Lanjewar added that the famous Hanuman temple, Old Satyanarayana temple and Buddha Vihar situated on the road will require to be razed for the project.

“Majority of the areas in West Nagpur are dependent on shops situated on this road. Public will also face serious inconvenience. We hope Gadkari and Deshmukh will save over 350 families from destruction,” he said.

Other office bearers of the association, including president Mahesh Khandelwal, secretary Suresh Girhe, vice-president Dilip Khorgade, were present during the press conference.