Mahavikas Aghadi Protests Against Cancellation of Pune Metro Route Inauguration

Pune, 28th September 2024: Heavy protests erupted on Friday (27th September) as Mahavikas Aghadi held a symbolic inauguration of the Swargate to Civil Court section of the Pune Metro, which connects Pimpri-Chinchwad to Swargate. The route was initially scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but his visit was canceled due to rain.

Following the cancellation, Mahavikas Aghadi had warned that if the route was not opened for public use, they would proceed with the inauguration themselves. True to their word, protesters from Mahavikas Aghadi opened the route for public use, symbolically inaugurated by senior citizens.

During the protest, demonstrators raised strong slogans against the central government. The event also saw a brief clash between the police and protestors.

Protesters voiced their concerns, stating that it was unfair for a metro line, built with public funds, to remain idle at the discretion of a single individual. According to them, the symbolic inauguration by senior citizens was done in the interest of the public, ensuring the metro line could serve the people.

Several political figures from the Mahavikas Aghadi alliance were present at the event, including Kasba Assembly Constituency MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar Party (NCP-SP) City President Prashant Jagtap, Congress City President Arvind Shinde, former MLA Mohan Joshi, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) City Chief Sanjay More, and other prominent leaders such as Gajanan Tharkude, Sangeeta Tiwari, Asha Sane, Uday Mahale, Ajit Darekar, Kishore Kamble, Dilshad Anwar, and Rameez Syed. A large number of party office bearers and activists also participated in the protest.