Chandrakant Patil discusses safety, security of 17 hills in Pune with forest department

Patil asked the forest officials about the three forest fires reported in Pune in the last one month. The recent forest fire in the Undri area damaged hundreds of trees, following which a case was registered by the state forest department.

Mohite said there are 17 hills/tekdis with about 1,680 hectares of forest land in the city. Patil asked Mohite to prepare a status report, comprising details such as number of trees, requirement of security guards and other manpower, watch towers, CCTV cameras on all the 17 hillocks.

Patil also asked the police and PMC to coordinate with the forest department to secure the hills. Patil discussed the problems at the Mhatoba Tekdi, which comes under his constituency. He assured to provide support for measures such as increasing the number of guards, intensifying ground surveillance, setting up infrastructure for cutting and burning grass and unwanted plantation on the hills.

Asked about the increasing number of crimes reported on the hills in Pune city, Patil said it is important to step up manpower to prevent untoward incidents.

On January 4, two men robbed a 17-year-old girl and her friend on the Hanuman Tekdi. The robbers threatened the duo by pointing a machete, attacked the girl and looted her gold chain worth Rs 1 lakh. The girl lodged an FIR at the Deccan police station. Police arrested the two robbers during investigation.

Meanwhile, multiple crimes were reported on different hills in Pune city in the last few months. The most gruesome crime was that of gang rape of a 21-year-old woman on the forest land in the Bopdev Ghat area on October 3 last year. The woman and her 22-year-old friend, both college students, had gone to Bopdev Ghat area on a motorcycle.

Around 11pm, three men came to the spot on their bikes and allegedly threatened them with sharp weapons and robbed their valuables.The accused men allegedly tied the woman’s friend with his shirt and belt and then dragged her to an isolated area, and gang-raped her. Police have arrested two persons in this case and the third accused is still at large.