Sangamwadi-Deccan College Road opens with helmet rule in place

PUNE: The Bombay Engineering Group and Centre (BEG) on Wednesday opened the Sangamwadi-Deccan College Road which was closed to the public in 2012 for security reasons.
A senior army officer from BEG told TOI, “After the road closure, we had constructed a wall. The demolition work of this wall was going till Tuesday night. We opened the road on Wednesday morning for public use.”



The defence ministry recently decided that all closed roads in the Cantonments will be reopened immediately and closure of individual roads will be reviewed in conformity with the provisions as laid down.

Moreover, any closure of roads will be taken up after following the due procedure. A simplified detailed SOP will be issued to address the needs of the public and military establishment.

The Local Military Authority in Pune Cantonment threw open the Right Flanks Lines Road in Wanowrie and Elite Lines Road in Ghorpadi on Tuesday.

However, residents of Sangamwadi said helmets were mandatory, and each commuter has to make an entry before using the road. In addition, no vehicle movement will be allowed after 9pm on this stretch.

Sanjay Nikam, a resident, told TOI, “The army authorities have told us categorically that they will not allow us to use the road after 9pm which is against the Ministry of Defence directives. They have not removed the iron barrier set up at the time of closing the road. As a result, four-wheelers cannot use the road.”

Engineering student Sanket Bole said, “We will follow the army’s instructions but the personnel deployed at both the gates talk rudely to the people.”

BEG sources said they have taken stock of the security in the past two days. “This road goes right through our campus. There are important training units located on the stretch and security of these establishments is of paramount importance. Therefore, we decided to deploy extra personnel,” they said.

After 9pm, any movement on this road has direct security implications, they added. “There have been instances in the past when residents have entered our training campuses at night. To avoid such instances, we need to put certain restrictions on people,” they added.

BEG is spread over 566 acres. This training establishment moulds a raw recruit into a fully trained soldier.