The Times of India 14.03.2013
Has NMC done a favour to hotel?
The civic body tarred a 500m patch of DP road near hotel Radisson Blu
off Wardha Road in just two days in December last year. It has helped
hotel’s visitors to approach Wardha Road without having to take a
circuitous route. It is also being used to park visitors’ vehicles on
weekends. But it is out of bounds for residents from localities on the
other side of a compound wall on this road.
NAGPUR: Nagpur Municipal Corporation, which is unable to provide even basic amenities to several localities, has shown remarkable
efficiency in tarring a patch of road near Hotel Radisson Blu off
Wardha Road in just two days but the motive has come under scanner. For,
this road is out of bounds for original beneficiaries – residents of
Azad Hind Society, Khode Layout, Bhagyodaya layout, Nagbhoomi and
Anusaya layouts – as its meets a dead end on opposite side of Wardha
Road. Instead, the road is only serving visitors to the five-star hotel
to approach Wardha Road and also park their vehicles.
The
development plan (DP) road is meant to provide direct link between these
residential localities and Wardha Road. Team TOI visited the site on
Tuesday and found that the NMC’s public works department had tarred the
road last December up to an old compound wall, not more than 500m metres
from Wardha Road. The residential localities are situated beyond this
compound wall.
According to residents, the hotel did not have
its own parking space and NMC did it a favour by tarring this road.
“Because of the compound wall, the hotel can easily use this road as
parking space for its visitors,” they alleged.
Due to the
no-shopping frontage rule, the hotel has not been given entry/exit point
on Wardha Road. Visitors have to turn left towards Narendra Nagar ROB
and then another left towards the hotel. Sources pointed out that the
NMC had constructed this approach road too.
Now, the specially
constructed 500 metre road has made approaching Wardha road much easier
for the hotel’s visitors. It allows them to turn left at the hotel exit
and drive towards Wardha Road. But for this road, visitors had to take a
circuitous route for Wardha Road entry: Turn left towards RUB, use side
road, drive beneath the RUB and come on to the side road on the other
side
Rajkumar Hatwar, a resident of one of the neighbouring
localities, said the dead end on the side opposite to Wardha Road on
this special road may cause hardships during emergencies. Another
resident Mangala Tidke, who has been living in the area for around 25
years, said, “Earlier, the area came under Nagpur Improvement Trust
(NIT) and as per the development plan this road provides direct access
between our area and Wardha road. Later, the NIT
handed over the layout to NMC. Though we regularly pay civic taxes, we
are being deprived of basic amenities like road. There is no one to take
note of our grievance.”
NIT officials confirmed that the
layout had been handed over to NMC half-a-decade ago and the road was
constructed under NMC authorized layout.
The special road was
opened without fanfare at the beginning of this year. When TOI contacted
Laxmi Nagar zone’s junior engineer PR Parashar, he pleaded ignorance
about construction of this road.
When contacted, BJP corporator
Munna Yadav, who represents the Sai Mandir ward, could not explain why
the civic body tarred the road when there are no localities on either
side. When asked whether the road was tarred to favour the hotel, he did
not respond. Later, Yadav assured to look into the matter.
A
delegation of residents also met municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane
who then directed the Laxmi Nagar zone officials to look into the
matter.
Rahul Satija, public relation officer of Hotel Radisson
Blu, claimed that the hotel never approached the NMC to construct the
road. “Moreover, it’s not hotel’s property,” he said, adding it is meant
for public.