Pune: A help centre under the newly commissioned Phursungi police station will soon come up at Dive Ghat , which connects the city to Saswad and Pandharpur. Activists and commuters are, however, questioning how far the proposed centre will be effective, considering the limited staff allocated to the new police station — 36 personnel, including officers — and the vast area it covers. Dive Ghat is frequented by several visitors for its scenic viewpoints, including Mastani Lake and a 60-ft-tall Vitthal statue.
Activists recalled that a similar help centre was earlier set up in Bopdev Ghat in response to a series of robberies and criminal activities in the past few years. Despite its presence as a deterrent, a 21-year-old event management student was gang-raped by three men late on the night of Oct 3. At the time, the centre was inoperational for a while due to manpower issues, and the police only occasionally patrolled the area.
The gang rape occurred barely 100m away from the defunct centre. Commenting on the Dive Ghat proposal, Wadki businessman Yatish Ambekar told TOI, "Dive Ghat has no streetlights and is constantly in the dark. Security needs to be enhanced here due to the rise in visitors.
There are complaints that miscreants try to stop two-wheelers at night. There are no signboards appealing to visitors not to visit the place after sunset. The Saswad police opened a check post here in 2019 as the ghat area falls under Pune rural police.
The check post later became de.