Talegaon Dabhade residents up in arms against proposed six-lane expressway project to be initiated by the state public works department

The expressway:

The proposed 123-km expressway will link Talegaon on the Mumbai-Pune highway to Shirur, along the Pune-Ahmednagar highway and further up to Shikrapur, Nhavara and Chouphula, on the Pune-Solapur highway. In a way, it would be an easterly bypass for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, as it would divert heavy traffic and thus help reduce traffic congestion.

The expressway is to be built at a cost of Rs 1,220 crore on a build operate and transfer (BOT) basis and involves the construction of four flyovers, five big bridges, 38 small bridges, 16 underground tunnels and 34 bus bays.

Through residential areas:

Residents have demanded that the expressway be diverted from residential areas to industrial areas.

Political groups as well as citizens organisations, have formed the Talegaon Action Committee in order to take their demands to the state government.

While residents are not against the expressway project per se, they have pointed out various reasons why the six-lane road should not pass through residential areas in Talegaon. An 8-km stretch of the proposed expressway, from Malwadi (on the Talegaon Chakan route) to Talegaon goes through a residential area, which has a number of housing colonies as well as schools, the committee said.

The committee has also pointed out that if the road alignment is changed, it would be easier to link it to the proposed international airport near Chakan.
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