Pune: Koregaon Park residents want noise pollution from pubs, restaurants to be major issue in PMC polls

Rohan Desai, an active member of a citizen’s civic group in the area, said that the loud music played by many of these establishments late into the night has been disturbing. “Loud music is played in almost all the new establishments which have come up in the various lanes of Koregaon Park. The problem is acute in Lane No. 7 and South Main Road area of Koregaon Park where several of these establishments are located,” he said.

Many of the establishments, Desai said, do not have enough parking space and thus the patrons park their vehicles mostly on the roads. Such lack of clarity about parking has also led to problems in the area, he said. Desai said that senior members of civic groups, such as Roda Mehta, Sathi Nair and others, had taken up the matter with authorities as well as the owners of these establishments but the problem persists.

Desai said that no action was taken despite multiple police complaints due to alleged political patronage of these establishments. Recently the citizens met municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar to discuss this problem. “The commissioner, during the meeting, talked about injunction orders obtained by some establishments against anti-encroachment activities. As citizens we have given full support to his commitment towards action against encroachment,” he said.

Desai said that this issue has made many of the citizens rethink their decision to invest and stay in one of the most expensive areas of Pune but it has not found much traction among the political leadership of the area. “This should be the only issue that corporators in our area should raise. We will make sure this becomes an issue in the upcoming civic polls,” he said.