Juna Bazar hoarding fall effect – Now structural audit of hoardings in Pune

Pune – The municipal administration, which was awakened after the hoarding incident at Shahir Amar Sheikh Chowk (Juna Bazar chowk) on Friday, decided to conduct structural audit of all hoarding in the city. PMC’s Additional Commissioner Rajendra Nimbalkar said that a meeting of hoarding agencies and municipal officials will be held and the expert advisory committee will be appointed.

Four people lost their lives on Friday after the a big hoarding structure was being dismantled on the railway premises at Juna Bazar chowk. After this, the administration decided to conduct a structural audit of all hoardings in the city. In the city, there are 1886 authorized hoardings and 114 unauthorized hoarding as per records of Pune Municipal Corporation’s skyline and license department.

In the last few years due to political intervention, the question of unauthorized hoarding has become serious in the city. This is discussed in the general body meeting several times. In the PILs, the court has often pulled up PMC officials for their negligence. However, the question of the hoarding incident has come to the fore again. The corporation has decided to conduct a structural audit so that it does not happen again.

Meanwhile, action has been taken on the illegal advertising boards in the city. The Municipal Corporation has already issued notice to 114 illegal hoardings owners.  All the hoardings except those under litigation, will be dismantled. 

The Bundgarden police station on Saturday morning arrested junior engineer Sanjay Singh and his assistant Pandurang Wanare for their negligence which resulted in the collapse of a huge hoarding at Juna Bazar chowk on Friday in which four persons were killed. Ten others have sustained severe injuries.

Senior police inspector MM Mujawar, in-charge of the police station, said that the two officers neglected their duties and safety of the people while ordering removal of hoarding structure.

While dismantling the structure, it was not tied on top following which it fell down on vehicles and people standing at the traffic signal around 1.30 pm. Two persons were declared brought dead while two others had succumbed to their injuries later.

The railway administration had given the contractor with the order to dismantle the hoarding. The accident happened when they were cutting it. When the hoarding collapsed, traffic was on the way as usual, and there were six rickshaws, two-wheelers and a car parked on the signal. Some of the rickshaws were crushed in a sudden fall of the iron structure of hoarding. Drivers and passengers were severely injured.

Due to the accident, the traffic on this road is completely disrupted. Traffic DCP Tejaswi Satpute and local police and Fire Brigade personnel rushed to the spot.  Initially two persons were declared brought dead. Later another person succumbed to the injuries.

Officials said that the contractor’s labourers were cutting the iron structure from bottom instead of top following which the structure fell down on the vehicles standing at the traffic signal. After the incident, the contractor and his labourers fled, while railway authorities came to the spot, saw and went away.

Injured and dead persons

The deceased persons have been identified as Shamrao Gagandhar Kasar (age-70) of Pimpalegurav, Javed Khan (45) , Sham Rajaram Dhotre (age 45) of  Dehurod Cantt, Shivaji Devdas Pardesi (age 40) of Nana Peth. Those injured are  Kiran Somnath Thosar (age-22) of Hadapsar, Yashwant Rama Khobre  of Kothrud,  Mahesh Auchekar of Nana Peth, Rukmini Pardeshi of Nana Peth and the names of the other three injured persons could not be ascertained.

Among the injured were two girls and their father Shivaji Pardeshi who were returning home after the cremation of girls’ mother. They had gone to Alandi for immersion of ashes in the Indrayani river. Shivaji succumbed to his injuries.