Massive agitation planned on Aug 9 to press for Nashik-Junnar-Pune rail route

Nashik: Elected representatives, residents and several organisations have announced a ‘Chakka Jaam’ (traffic blockade) on Aug 9 to press for the Nashik-Junnar-Pune semi-highspeed railway (SHR) project.

The protest will be held at key junctions along the Nashik-Pune highway and the Samruddhi Expressway.The decision was taken at a joint meeting attended by representatives from Sinnar, Sangamner, Junnar and other parts of Pune district. Protesters are demanding that the Railways restore the project’s original alignment and abandon the recently re-aligned route announced by railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.“We have no objection to the Nashik-Shirdi railway route. That is a separate matter.

Our demand is for the Nashik-Sangamner-Junnar-Pune rail corridor, which will connect the industrial hubs of Nashik and Pune while driving development in Akole, Sangamner and other parts of the three districts,” MLC Satyajeet Tambe, who represents the Nashik Graduates’ Constituency, said.Tambe said planned agitations had already been deferred twice, first following the death of Ajit Pawar and later on June 29 at the request of the local administration.

“The protest will involve blocking traffic at strategic locations, including Sinnar, Sangamner, Akole, Narayangaon, Manchar, Chakan, the Gonde Phata junction on the Samruddhi Mahamarg and points along the Nashik-Pune highway,” he said.The Sinnar Taluka Railway Action Committee has begun mobilising farmers, industrial workers, traders and students, indicating growing public frustration over what it describes as repeated delays in the project.Meanwhile, a high-level meeting chaired by water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was recently held at Vidhan Bhavan to discuss the proposed route through Chakan, Rajgurunagar, Manchar, Narayangaon, Alephata and Sinnar.According to Baban Waje, president of the Sinnar Taluka Railway Action Committee, several leaders, including MLA Babaji Kale, opposed any modifications to the original alignment. “They stressed that the economic future, employment opportunities and overall development of north Pune, Ahilyanagar and Nashik districts are closely tied to this route,” Waje said.