Petition Started To Remove The Illegal Board Of Pune’s Salisbury Park Named After BJP Corporator’s Father

Manisha Swain

Pune, 21st March 2022: The Salisbury Park garden, spread across an area of 3.5 acres lies adjacent to the old Gool Poonawala garden has been the centre of attraction for people since the day it was established. It is living proof of the perseverance of citizens of the neighbourhood who fought for several decades to get back the plot earmarked for a garden from a builder.

But now, the BJP corporator, Shrinath Bhimale has illegally put up a board naming the garden after his father. “This is not only unethical and hurts the sentiments of the citizens who fought hard for the inauguration of the garden. The citizens have started a petition with the demand to remove the illegal name from the board”, states an online petition filed on change.org website.

To give an insight into the garden, in the mid-1990s, the former Resident Editor of The Indian Express, Prakash Kardaley exposed the Pune Municipal Corporation’s illegal de-reservation of the Salisbury Park’s garden plot of about 70,000 sq ft to be handed over to a prominent city builder.

After the story appeared in The Indian Express, he formed a citizen committee of the Express Citizen’s Forum (ECF) to intensify this issue. This triggered off enthusiasm amongst the residents of the Camp area. Taking this issue forward ECF member Adv NP Bhog along with several citizens went to the Bombay High Court and then the Supreme Court.

V P Taneja, a Salisbury Park resident who was the main coordinator of this ECF committee guided a citizen campaign and joined Bhog in the legal battle. The determination of the citizens in pursuing the matter despite all the odds against them led them to get their rightful garden land.

Faizal Poonawala who heads the Salisbury Park Residents Forum furthered the cause by following up with the PMC which led the garden to become what it is today.

“Although corporator Bhimale ensured that the garden was developed from the money of taxpayers, it does not give him the right to personalise the public garden for his own fame.”

The citizens have started a petition demanding to remove the illegal board named after the corporator’s father. The petition is being circulated widely among the citizens.

The creator of the petition Vinita Deshmukh says, “I have started this petition because over the years Pune corporators are audaciously personalising all public gardens by naming them after their family members. Let’s start with the Salisbury Park garden! Hence please sign this petition in large numbers.”

She also tweeted on the issue.

Another Twitter user writes, “Pls sign & share this petition Punekars! This is a public effort. If anything the garden ought to be named after Prakash Kardaley for his relentless pursuit of public causes including Right to Information.”