Pune: Pranita Takale, a resident of Ektanagari, suffered heavy financial loss in the recent floods , which damaged her home and her shop. She is yet to receive any financial aid from the civic body. "My home and shop are on the ground floor.
So, the damages suffered are high. The compensation should be good enough to mitigate the loss," she said. Alka Jadhav, another resident of the area, said, "The authorities should make sure that the compensation is provided at the earliest.
It will help us get back on track as soon as possible." A month after the flash floods on July 25, many citizens of flood-affected areas in Ektanagari and Anandnagar along Sinhagad Road and in Warje and Shivane said that they are still awaiting compensation from the PMC. Deputy chief minister and Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar told reporters on Monday that he had instructed the authorities to ensure immediate disbursal of funds.
"The assessment for compensation is complete," he said. "The aid has been given to some citizens through cheque payment. Some citizens will receive the compensation directly into their bank accounts through direct bank transfer," Pawar said after laying the foundation stones for several development works.
Resident district collector Jyoti Kadam said that disbursal of financial aid has started. "All due beneficiaries will receive compensation," she said. Citizens said that delay in getting financial aid had made it difficult for them to deal with the loss caused by floods.
They said that they had received information that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) was offering Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per head as compensation. "The compensation being given is very little as compared to what we have lost," said an affected citizen. Residents said that most of the flood affected are from the poor strata of society.
"These people have built their homes and businesses after years of effort. Rebuilding their homes will be a tough task without the help of authorities," a resident said. Ashok Munigal, a resident of Ekta Nagari, said that his home was damaged in the floods.
"After the flood water entered our homes we had to leave, keeping majority of our household items behind. "We have been running from pillar to post to claim compensation from the authorities. But our efforts have gone in vain.
Neither have we got the compensation, nor has our name featured in the list of beneficiaries," he said. Water gushed into residential societies in low-lying areas of Ektanagari and Anandnagar and in Warje and Shivane, located close to the Mutha riverbank, leaving many residents stranded in their homes amid waist-high water. A similar situation was also reported from Vishrantwadi areas close to Mula-Mutha riverbank.
Some of the housing societies that have been affected in the floods are Dwarka, Jalpoojan, Sharada Sarover, and Sham Sundar housing cooperatives, Swami Vivekanand society, Futura society, and Sadguru society in Warje, Saritanagari off Sinhagad Road, besides those close to the riverbed areas near Ganjpeth..
