The New Indian Express                      16.03.2013

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.