They blamed the sewage water flowing from an adja cent residential apartmen which gets accumulated a the society’s entrance ma king it a perfect ground for mosquitoes to breed and spread disease. Besides, the re is an overpowering stench hanging in the air througho ut the day , they said.
“Seven people living in our society have tested posi tive for dengue in the last 12 months. We have put up our concerns with the gram pan chayat of Pisoli and with the health officials, but all our complainants have fallen on deaf ears. There are no initi atives to resolve the drainage problem. It has been plagu ing us ever since we moved to this society one and half years ago,“ said Subheshwar Pathak. He lives in Arc Gaurav housing society in Pisoli, a residential apartment of 186 flats in Haveli taluka.
Pisoli is one of the 34 villages slated for merger with the Pune Municipal Corporation. As an extension to Kondhwa, Undri and Mohammadwadi, it has seen significant growth recently . However, since it is under the gram panchayat, civic infrastructure is a challenge for people living in Pisoli.
“Our society falls within the purview of the gram panchayat, but is not registered with it. Hence, we have no local government to look up to.We are left on our own. The builder does not pay any heed to our complaints,“ another resident Vaibhav Kadam said.
The residents said they had been living with the drai nage water accumulation at their entrance gate for more than a year.
“Water used by an adjacent society forms a pool at our gate and mosquitoes breed. There is no respite from mosquito bites. Children keep falling sick and repellents like coils and vapourisers are of no use,“ he added.
Another resident Ravindra Bhasme said mosquitoes had made their lives a hell. “Besides, there are issues of drinking water scarcity , bad internal roads, no street lights. No public representative or political leaders are willing to take up these issues because we are not their voters,“ he added.
“Our society is not registered with the gram panchayat. Hence, when we approached those officials they refused to help. We are at our wits end. We wonder if we are li ving in Pune which is vying for a smart city tag or in some remote corner disconnected from good living condi tions,“ Bhasme said.
Not just dengue and mala ria, water-borne illnesses are also making house calls. “Se veral people in our society are also being diagnosed with typ hoid. We fear for ourselves our elderly and children,“ sa id Shikha Sinha, a resident.
Another Pisoli resident Prakash Zende said, “The open drainage and its stench have made our living miserable. This place has also become a hub for scavenging animals. It is risky to let our children play in the open.“
“Swarms of mosquitoes enter our houses by 5pm. The ear of coming down with dengue is on our minds all he time. We have to keep our doors and windows closed round-the-clock,“ Jitendra Le e, a resident, said.
“The accumulation of dirty water here is a health hazard for many housing societies and manufacturing units,“ Mandeep Singh, a resident, said.
Bhagawan Pawar, dis rict health officer (DHO) responsible for public health of people living outside the municipal corporation areas n Pune, said, “We have not received any complaint. I will personally resolve the matter at the earliest.“
Nitin Agrawal, one of the developers of Arc Gaurav, re used any comment. “I am ravelling and cannot say anything right now,“ he said.His partner Ajay Raka rema ned unreachable.
Source : TOI
