Several villagers have been protesting the newly proposed railway line from Talegaon Dabhade to Uruli Kanchan to be shifted elsewhere, citing that much of their land has already been acquired for MIDC and ring road projects, while the remaining will also be gone under the new rail line.
To address the increasing traffic congestion in Pune, the Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced in June that a new railway line that will connect Talegaon to Shikrapur via Uruli Kanchan is planned in the first phase and from Shikrapur to Daund in the later stage.
The proposed corridor will be parallel to the development on Pune’s outer ring road, while the farmers and residents of Kuruli, Nighoje, Moi, Chimbali, Dehu Gaon and other villages have opposed the said project and are demanding to bypass it from elsewhere.
Speaking to the Free Press Journal, Rohan Gaikwad, a resident of Kuruli village, said, “The government has already acquired our lands for the MIDC industries and Pune’s ring road, and we are left with negligible land now.”
“Now, with the demand for additional land for the railway route between Talegaon Dabhade and Uruli Kanchan, our entire village will be shifted. We have been living here for centuries, and by this rail line, our villagers have to be shifted elsewhere without any earning resource, so we oppose this new project and demand it be planned elsewhere,” Gaikwad added.
The Lonavala-Pune railway line expansion will allow better use of the outer railway bypass for traffic management, will also boost the industrial activity in the Chakan and Bhosari MIDC, while increasing the transport infrastructure in the region and reducing pressure on Pune Railway Junction.
"The industries, builder lobby, and related businesses will be prosperous through the new rail line, but the farm lands, our only source of income, will be taken away. Schools, age-old temples, and our houses will be destroyed by this project, so we demand that the government reconsider the rail line plan, and save farmers," said Sonu Yelwande, a resident of Nighoje.
Several villagers have also met various political leaders, including Sharad Pawar, Ramdas Athawale, Appa Barne, Sunil Shelke, and the PMRDA chief, among others, to consider tweaking the proposed rail route plan while making resolutions from their respective Grampanchayats.
