Aaditya Thackeray Blames Pune Floods on Riverfront Project
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 29: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has claimed that the flash floods in Pune city are due to the riverfront development project. Thackeray stated that he had previously halted this project when he was the minister and asked for it to be re-planned.
Thackeray said, “The flash floods in Pune weren’t because of anything else than the unplanned destruction of Pune at the hands of the regime-builder nexus, along with the riverfront development/destruction program put into effect by an architect from Gujarat, wanting to copy paste the Sabarmati riverfront development model, without understanding the flow of Pune’s rivers.”
He added, “The riverfront development project is a blind destruction program of Pune and its rivers. As the then minister for Environment, I had stopped this destruction project and had asked them to re-plan the entire project.”
Thackeray mentioned that after their government was toppled, the authorities have been pushing the project for the past two years. He said, “Multiple urban planners and architects from Pune have spoken against it. So have I. This project is going to create trouble for Pune and we can see its impacts already in the form of floods. This riverfront destruction must be stopped.”
He also emphasized the need for a river clean-up, not debris dumping to turn the river into a concrete bucket. Thackeray announced that he would be visiting Pune to highlight the damage caused by the riverfront project and illegal construction.
Additionally, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule criticized Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, stating that honest taxpayers of Pune have been cheated by the government’s mismanagement. Sule demanded a clear package to clean the area and ensure food and water supply, noting that people’s documents and children’s books have gone missing due to the floods.
Doubts Revealed
Aaditya Thackeray -: Aaditya Thackeray is a politician from Maharashtra, India. He is a member of the Shiv Sena party and has served as the Environment Minister.
Pune -: Pune is a large city in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is known for its educational institutions and cultural heritage.
Riverfront Project -: A Riverfront Project involves developing the area around a river to make it more attractive and useful, often including parks, walkways, and buildings.
Shiv Sena (UBT) -: Shiv Sena (UBT) is a political party in Maharashtra, India. UBT stands for Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, who is a prominent leader of the party.
Flash Floods -: Flash floods are sudden and severe floods that happen quickly due to heavy rain. They can cause a lot of damage in a short time.
Environment Minister -: The Environment Minister is a government official responsible for protecting the environment and making policies to prevent pollution and other environmental issues.
NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule -: Supriya Sule is a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party (SP). She is a politician who represents the people in the government.
Mismanagement -: Mismanagement means handling something poorly or inefficiently, leading to problems or failures.
Package to aid affected residents -: A package to aid affected residents is a set of help measures, like money or resources, given to people who have been harmed by an event like a flood.
