123Pune.com

Pune, April 25: The Pune Municipal Corporation has assured that the long-constructed Sangamwadi bridge will be open for public use in four months’ time. The bridge constructed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation was completed more than a year ago, but could not be open for traffic because of a lack of an approach road and land acquisition problems.

The bridge which originates from the Patil estate slums on the Pune-Mumbai road and ends at the Sadalbaba dargah in Sangamwadi will reduce the distance from Vishrantwadi to reach Shivajinagar to just 2 kms. Currently, commuters from Alandi road have to travel a distance of 10 km either via the Yerawada bridge or the Holkar bridge to reach the city.

Corporator Sanjay Bhosale, in a written query had questioned the status of the Sangamwadi bridge’s approach roads, land acquisition problems and the cause of delay. During discussions on the question in the General Body meeting on Tuesday, civic city engineer Prashant Waghmare said that since the parts of approach roads were under defence, there were problems in the land acquisition. “The proposals of land acquisitions have reached with the defence ministry in Delhi and are in the final stages of approval,” he said.

He also said that some part of land for approach road also belonged to private owners and the civic administration had requested the owners to compromise and give the land away. “By May, the land of private owners will be acquired by the PMC,” he said. Mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale too has directed Municipal Commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi to expedite the land acquisition process and ensure the bridge is open for traffic soon.

The foundation stone for the Sangamwadi bridge at the old Mumbai-Pune road was laid by chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in 2002. The MSRDC constructed the 100-feet wide and 1.75-km long bridge at the cost of around Rs 6 crore. The bridge was recommended in the city’s Development Plan in 1967. However for 35 years, the project has been delayed owing to land acquisition issues.

The alignment of the bridge was also changed four times as it passed through the premises of the Pune district judge’s bungalow near the College of Engineering, Pune and at other times due to passing through defence land.

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