Pune:
Following a sustained campaign by residents of Nathan Road area, the exit of the hotel under construction on Mangaldass Road by K Raheja Constructions has been shifted from Nathan Road to the main road.
The drawing was approved by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) recently.
In early October, PMC city engineer, Prashant Waghmare, had directed the company's senior manager, Sanjay Shenolikar, to look at the feasibility of having the exit on Mangaldass Road, instead of Nathan Road, following protests by local residents.
DNA had (August 21) highlighted the concerns of the residents of Nathan Road with respect to the exit of the 5-star hotel under construction and had taken up the issue with the builder and the PMC.
Residents had been objecting to the proposed exit and the service entrance of the hotel from this 40-foot road, which is perpendicular to the 80-foot Mangaldass Road.
The hotel's entry has been designed from Mangaldass Road, while the exit has been designed to open into a by lane (Nathan Road) which is also a dead end.
The residents feared that the exiting traffic from the hotel would hinder the flow of traffic on Nathan Road and become a cause of traffic snarls.
They also feared for the safety of schoolchildren who board buses at the end of the lane and senior citizens who would be greatly inconvenienced by the hotel traffic.
While the shifting of the exit comes as a relief to the residents, they are continuing to object to the existence of the service entry and exit from Nathan Road, which remains unchanged even as per the new approved plan.
"We don't want any entry/exit of the hotel into Nathan Road," said a resident and member of the National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC).
The residents said they will continue their efforts towards finding a resolution to this problem.
The circled area shows the location of the new exit for the under construction hotel on Mangaldass Road.
The previous exit was planned on the narrow Nathan Road which led to protests from residents in the neighbourhood.
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