Footpath in Balewadi turns into trash segregation spot in Pune

PUNE: A stretch of the footpath from Sai Chowk to Dasara Chowk constructed under the Smart City project, which is being used for garbage segregation by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Balewadi Road, a few metres from Balewadi High Street area, is unbearable to walk on. The garbage forces pedestrians to get off the safety area and walk on the road which has shrunk due to the ongoing PMRDA metro work.
SWaCH workers have been allotted the space as a garbage segregation point. Work goes on the whole day and the entire patch is littered with garbage. Some has been decomposing for months. Local residents want the garbage shed moved to another location.
Civic activist and local resident Ameya Jagtap said, "We have complained several times, I had personally discussed this with civic officials regarding shifting of the garbage sorting shed and a clean-up of the footpath. The slow response from the department is disappointing. Pedestrians have to face difficulties due to PMC's mismanagement. The road is also unsafe thanks to the ongoing Metro work."
Another resident, Bharat Shrivastava, said, "The PMC should not have started a garbage segregation centre on the footpath. It's terrible to go for morning walks along this stretch since garbage spills everywhere. Moreover, other people have started dumping waste along the road."
A passerby said he had never realised that there was a Smart City footpath underneath all this garbage. "I am so used to seeing this spot full of trash that the footpath has been long forgotten. We just walk on the road," he added.
Deputy commissioner and head of the solid waste management department Asha Raut said, "Fifteen days ago, I had instructed civic officials to shift the segregation point. They are looking for another location. It will be finalised very soon and the footpath will be cleared."
Ward officer Sandip Khalate said there was no other place for garbage segregation as of now and they will shift it when an alternative is available. Some residents said they have been waiting for long and may take to an agitation if there is no relief.