Postcards from the past: How Pimpri-Chinchwad made political history before it became industrial hub

Dnyaneshwar Landge

For Landge, one of the region’s political stalwarts, memories of that contest are still fresh. “The atmosphere was completely different. There were no television channels. We had to campaign door to door and tell the voters face to face what we planned to do for the ward. After that, the PCMC has never seen a close contest for mayoral polls… since then, the Congress at first and then the NCP have received large mandates.” Landge remained the mayor for a year. Later, in 1990, he was fielded successfully by the Congress from the Haveli assembly seat.

Before politics, a career in wrestling

Hailing from Bhosari, which is known for its “pahilwans”, Landge is also a decorated wrestler himself, apart from leaving a mark in the region’s education and banking sectors.

In 1963, Landge captained the Pune university team that won a national wrestling championship in Varanasi. “It was the first time that the championship was won by Pune university at an event where varsity representatives from across the country participated. It was a grand occasion,” he recalls. While Landge won in the individual category, “players who represented different colleges in the city made their mark too”. “It was teamwork, and we won as a team,” he says.

Landge is also credited with setting up Pavana Cooperative Bank and Pimpri-Chinchwad Education Trust. “The Pavana Bank has been running smoothly for 50 years now. The Trust runs an engineering college,” he says.

After dominating the wrestling pits during the early 1960s, Landge veered into the political field in 1967 by becoming the sarpanch of Bhosari. He went on to become the vice-president of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Council before winning that landmark mayoral election.

“While Pune city had the Pune Municipal Corporation much earlier, Pimpri-Chinchwad got a municipal council only in the early 1970s. Annasaheb Magar, who is hailed as the architect of Pimpri-Chinchwad, was the first president of that council and I was the vice-president,” says Langde.

Then came the formation of the PCMC on October 11, 1982. “This was the first turning point in the city’s history where four different panchayat samitis were merged and the municipality was formed. In a way, it united Pimpri-Chinchwad,” says Landge.

There was still some way to go, though.

“Between 1982 and 1986, there was no municipal commissioner. PCMC had an administrator, Harnam Singh. It was during his tenure that Pimpri-Chinchwad moved on the path of development. We drafted civic plans and policies. Pimpri-Chinchwad was basically agrarian land. There were hardly any tall buildings or big projects. There were no bridges, flyovers or good roads,” says the former mayor.

The first major step, says Landge, resulted in the “green necklace” around the region following a “massive tree plantation drive undertaken under Harnam Singh”. “There was the involvement of a large number of citizens… students, teachers, activists, citizens and doctors. As a result, Pimpri-Chinchwad came to be known for its greenery, apart from its identity as an industrial city,” he says.

Today, Landge’s political legacy is being carried forward by his son, Nitin Landge, who became a corporator and the PCMC’s standing committee chairperson. Says Dnyaneshwar Landge, “In 1967, I got the opportunity to become the sarpanch of Bhosari village only because the elders then thought that youngsters should be given a chance to represent people.”