Garbage, Darkness & Drunkards: Residents Slam PMC Over Condition Of Viman Nagar Subway - VIDEO

The subway located in Pune's Viman Nagar, built to ensure pedestrian safety while crossing the busy road, has now turned into a hazard. It is filled with garbage, spitting marks and all kinds of dirt, making it unhygienic and unsafe for use. Residents have raised serious concerns about the condition of the subway. They urge the authorities to take action and claim that the response from the authorities has been superficial.

Akansha Sharma, a resident of Air Force Station, Viman Nagar, said, "Until a few months back, I was using this subway. It was unclean and unsafe. The subway is poorly lit and feels extremely unsafe to use after it gets dark. Many drunkards sit there - it's their 'adda' - and one thinks it’s worth risking your life to cross the main road instead of using the subway. Authorities should keep some guards there to ensure no antisocial activities are going on and to provide safety."

"The PMC first installed ATMS at traffic junctions, a project that cost approximately ₹102 crore from the Smart City allocation meant for traffic management. When that failed, they removed signals and introduced free U-turns, a good idea in theory, but executed without enforcement. People began taking shortcuts, driving on the wrong side, and the police failed to curb it. The biggest damage was to pedestrians; with no signals, vehicles now travel at high speed, and crossing Nagar Road has become dangerous. There are hardly any usable subways; on the entire stretch, only two exist - one in Viman Nagar and another near the Air Force Gate towards Kharadi. Both are in such a miserable state that no one wants to use them. A girl even messaged me on Instagram saying she was harassed inside one of the subways. None of the future corporators whose illegal hoardings are defacing our city are promising a cleaner Pune. Where is the Clean Poonawalla Initiative in all this? We are not just dealing with traffic; we are dealing with civic apathy," said active resident Ravi Kumar.

"I used the Viman Nagar subway near the BRTS stand a year back. Nothing has changed; it is as filthy as ever. It is quite sad that people with poor civic sense litter and spit around. However, PMC can get it cleaned and fine people who litter. Further, this place looks scary at night as the portion outside leading to the road is dimly lit on the Viman Nagar side," said Raja Subramani, a resident of Viman Nagar.

Binod Pillai, another resident of Viman Nagar, said, "The condition of the subway in Viman Nagar is pathetic. There are spitting marks and dirt all over. The subways are extensively used by beggars. They are not even actual beggars but seem to be syndicate beggars. They are using public property for their personal use. The subway, for no reason, has three or four charging points, due to which these syndicate beggars are using them and might be living underneath. Pedestrians are risking their lives and are using the main road to cross instead of using the subway because of its bad condition. We complained about it, and the cleaning staff came the other day and swept the floor, but that’s not the solution. We urge the authorities to take strict action and remove the charging stations as they are not required."

Meanwhile, speaking to The Free Press Journal, NCP-SP MLA Bapusaheb Pathare's son Surendra, said, "We have got the subway cleaned and we will remove the charging points from it. We have noted the safety concerns of the people."