Nashik: Trimbak municipal council president Triveni Tungar has urged the state govt to protect the town’s traditional wadas, historic buildings and old homes from unnecessary demolition for road-widening projects ahead of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela.
Addressing the rationale behind road expansion, Tungar pointed out that new 2.5 km-long bathing ghats are being constructed on the Godavari river outside the main town area for the holy dip.
“The historic structures add to the holy town’s beauty and should not be demolished or displaced in the name of development,” she said. Consequently, large crowds will not enter the narrow inner core, eliminating the need for aggressive, excessive road widening through traditional neighborhoods,” she said, adding that only necessary infrastructure work be undertaken after taking the municipal council into confidence. “All such land parcels, that are about 40 in number in the open, should be spared from acquisition and a resolution to the issue has been adopted,” council chief officer Ganesh Jadhav said, adding that govt was considering the demand positively.
“Since the alternate bathing arrangements for Parva Snan have been made outside the town, crowd flow will naturally be regulated and decentralized. Tungar submitted a memorandum to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday, citing a consensus reached at a joint consultation attended by sadhus and mahants from all akhadas, senior citizens, former and serving councillors, public representatives and administrative officials.