Pune Video: Service Road Between Wakad & Chandani Chowk Turns Into Garbage Dumping Spot

The entire stretch of the service road of NH-48 (Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway) from Wakad to Chandani Chowk in Pune has become a garbage dumping spot. It is an eyesore with all kinds of garbage like torn pillows, dirty stained mattresses, stale food items, broken TV sets, vehicles, mirrors, and furniture being dumped along the roadside. Citizens using the highway expect the civic body to strengthen security and find methods to monitor and catch those dumping waste along the highway.

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Chaitanya Ket, a Kothrud resident, said, "I commute from Kothrud to Hinjawadi daily, and in between there are many spots where garbage is dumped. There's a spot opposite Orchid Hotel, Baner, which has turned into a waste handling site. Earlier, there was a designated shaded space where sanitary workers would manually segregate the waste. And now the garbage dumping has spread in a 500 m radius. I have seen private workers taking away waste in small trucks that is useful, and the remaining waste gets piled up there and nobody takes responsibility for it. We don't even know whether that spot is designated by PMC or if it is illegal. I have also seen the remains of burnt garbage there. I have not seen who burns it or when, but the residue of burns can be seen. Another spot one can see is when you cross Bavdhan and to the left, garbage is being dumped there. The garbage dumping and burning is a big issue and it needs to be addressed by the civic authorities; someone has to take ownership of it."

"A few days ago I saw a private worker near Tip-Top International Hotel burning waste and when I asked him, he said, 'This waste has not been taken by anyone so I'm burning it. I tried dumping it in another location but I couldn't.' This remark made by a worker stunned me," added Ket.

Another resident, Amar Lungare, took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "Same story on all the service roads along Dehu-Katraj bypass. The stretch near Sutarwadi is on the verge of becoming a real dumpster."

Yuvraj Singh Chauhan, also a resident, said it was mostly the commuters who dumped the waste on the highway while passing by. "I commute from Bavdhan LMD Chowk towards Wakad on the service road and there is a huge dump yard. People throw every possible thing and drive away, and the garbage keeps piling up. The stench is not the only problem. The garbage also attracts cattle and stray animals to the trash heaps. It's not only an environmental hazard, but it can also lead to accidents. Many stray animals stay inside the underpass, which also causes hindrance to traffic," he said.

Meanwhile, speaking to The Free Press Journal, Sandeep Kadam, Head of Solid Waste Management, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said, "I'll send my team to identify such spots. Recently, we have spotted many chronic spots and cleared the space. We are taking strict actions against the violators and we will look into it and take action."