Pune: Members of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) staged a protest outside the Pune Municipal Corporation building on Monday, alleging large-scale negligence in civic works related to drainage and flood prevention projects across the city.
Hundreds of Shiv Sena workers gathered in front of the PMC headquarters and raised slogans against civic officials, accusing them of failing to resolve the city’s recurring waterlogging problems despite spending crores of rupees on infrastructure projects.
Speaking to the media during the protest, Pramod Nana Bhangire said PMC officials had assured citizens last year that major renovation work involving drainage lines, roads and water pipelines would be undertaken to prevent flooding during the monsoon season.
“Based on those assurances, several tenders were approved, and crores of rupees of public money were spent. However, the very first rain has exposed the contractors as well as the PMC officials. The situation across the city remains unchanged, with waterlogging reported in several areas,” Bhangire alleged.
He questioned the utilisation of funds allocated for drainage renovation works and demanded a detailed probe into the expenditure.
“Our simple question is, if crores were spent to avoid floods and waterlogging, then where has the money gone? Why are citizens still suffering from the same problems every monsoon?” he asked.
The party leaders demanded accountability from concerned civic officials and sought an inquiry into the tenders and execution of drainage-related projects undertaken last year.
The protest created a charged atmosphere outside the PMC building as party workers accused the civic administration of poor planning and negligence in carrying out monsoon preparedness works.
