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Ghorpadi residents rally to retain cop outpost claiming it brought safety and security to their area

Chowky got an eviction notice from PMC, which says it can continue at spot if police pay up the rent, renew lease

It was a 17-year-long struggle for residents of Ghorpadi to convince various authorities in the city and state to set up a police chowky in their vicinity, to rein in criminal activities the area was fraught with.

But within a year of the chowky coming into operation, unmindful of the huge difference its presence has made to the security of the place, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued an eviction notice to Mundhwa police to relocate the outpost from Shravasti Nagar. Evidently livid at this move, the residents have initiated a protest campaign, not willing to allow the chowky to be moved. Such is their desperation that they’ve even offered to foot the lease for the unit, should money be the problem.

The citizens, who blame the civic body’s irresponsibility in the past for the spike in criminal elements and exploits in the area, are petrified that a change of address of the chowky will see the neighbourhood regress into the notso-old dark days. “We had been demanding a police chowky here since 2002. It took them 17 years to yield. Now most of us are retired folks who want to live peacefully. We own houses here and do not want to deal with any more nuisance as in the past. The 24-hour presence of cops gave us the sense of security that we’ve lacked for long,” pointed out Hiralal Pardeshi, who has watched the transformation of the locality.


A campaign — Save Ghorpadi Police Chowky — has been unfurled by local social activist Sanjay Kawde at the behest of residents. “There are 12 big residential complexes, temples and a masjid in this locality. Police presence is very critical given that it relates to the security of about 50,000-70,000 people living here. Since they came on the scene, the situation has changed dramatically and people have just begun living without fear. We’re pursuing the issue with multiple authorities to have the notice withdrawn in the interest of people’s security,” he told Mirror.

While locals had already raised the pitch for a permanent police chowky to rid the area of goons, a civic initiative made the situation even more critical. When PMC built a sports complex, Jijau Krida Sankul, at Shravasti Nagar, on a 2.5-acre property, complete with a swimming pool, garden, walking track and an open gym, it offered the perfect recreational facility that the area lacked till then. Citizens took to it with enthusiasm. However, with lack of maintenance and security — without guards or closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera vigil — the complex soon fell into disuse, within a few months.

It was only a matter of time before the facility became a gambling den for criminals. With PMC turning a blind eye to the status of the infrastructure built with public money, it was lost to criminality and even turned into a hideout for externed criminals. Their audacity rose to a point where they were hiring out the public space for weddings and other events, allowing DJs to belt out loud music well into the night, completely destroying the peace of the neighbourhood.


What made the situation worse was that people had to cross the railway track and go another 3-4 km to file any complaint at Wanawadi police chowky, with some parts of Ghorpadi coming under the jurisdiction of its police station. To put an end to these woes, in September last year, a well-equipped chowky was finally set up with some local corporators pitching in private funds.

This done, criminals fled the scene. The citizens have tried to reclaim the sports complex, with even women accessing the facility for their morning and evening walks and children also finding a play area. The presence of 14 police personnel, with regular police bandobast and multiple rounds of patrolling, has clearly restored law and order in Ghorpadi, citizens vouch. “If they are removed from here, the situation will revert to a state of lawlessness. We’re rallying for this to be made a permanent chowky,” Kawde reiterated.

Citizens shudder to imagine the reversal of Ghorpadi’s plight. “Earlier, an auto-rickshaw driver would be scared to come into this area, making it difficult for us to get transport. The condition has vastly improved over the past year,” said Ravindra Chandane, a retired chartered accountant living in the vicinity. Keen to cling to this hard-earned security blanket, Tajuddin Shaikh, a retired army officer, volunteered, “If the police department is financially constrained in any way, we are willing to contribute to bearing the expenses for the next 36 months. We will take to the streets if necessary to preserve the chowky that has ensured that students study peacefully, senior citizens are not troubled and women can be outdoors without fear.”

Confirming the receipt of the notice to vacate the current premises of the Ghorpadi chowky, Sampat Bhosale, senior police inspector of Mundhwa police station, said, “They’ve not specified where the chowky is to be moved. Residents are protesting as they are against the unit being shifted, owing to the change its presence has made to the safety of the area. We are ready to work at any place as long as it ensures people’s security.”

Apparently, the eviction notice was sent not just to Ghorpadi chowky but also to Wanawadi and Mundhwa chowkies. “The leave-and-licence agreements with these units ended and no application was filed to extend them. Since sending the notice, Wanawadi police chowky paid its dues and confirmed the continuance. If Pune police approach us with the extension application and pay up the rents, we will continue the lease agreement,” informed deputy municipal commissioner Rajendra Muthe, who helms the property management department that sent out the notices.

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