Even as Police Commissioner Satish Mathur sought the coordination of Ganesh mandals for ensuring smooth Ganesh festival in view of the July 10 blast, the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Trust has pointed out that its suggestion to decongest the area around it — the temple has been on the hit-list of terrorists — has been gathering dust with the state government. The plan was to shift the building housing the Faraskhana and Vishrambaug police stations from their present location close to the Dagdusheth Ganpati temple. According to investigations in the German Bakery blast of February 13, 2010, the Indian Mujahideen had planned an attack on the temple but the plan was dropped. Ten days ago, the blast took place in the common parking lot of the Faraskhana and Vishrambaug police stations, near the temple where a devotees are present through the day. The police stations, the Dagdusheth mandal has suggested, should be near Marne Heights in Tulshibaug area. “There is an open plot near Marne Heights where a spacious building housing the police stations can come up,” said Ashok Godse, the president of Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Trust. Godse said that if the police stations are shifted, it will provide space to accommodate the huge number of devotees who turn up everyday and whose number shoots up considerably during festivals. He said that the move will help decongest the area. “There is an open plot near Marne Heights where a building can come up,” he said. The trust in fact had volunteered to construct the building using funds of its own, but the plan failed to find favour with the state government for five years. “We would construct the building on our own taking care of all requirements of the police force including a parking lot,” he said. Godse said that after a delay of five years, the plan is in the stage of approval. “We are hoping that in the next few months, it would be approved.” On whether the July 10 blast will discourage Ganesh devotees from thronging the temple like they do every year during the festival, Godse said, “It had no impact on devotees,” he said. Meanwhile, at Saturday’s meeting organised by the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Trust and the city police, Mathur said that in view of a terror threat, Pune police expect cooperation and coordination from mandal activists. “Sometimes, mandal activists force the police to take stringent action because of their improper behaviour. This year, we have readied a database of mandals and their activists.The mandals on their part should use social media to spread the message among mandals to follow laid-down norms during the Ganesh festival,” Mathur said.
