The walking plaza, which was suspended on December 1 in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai has been started again on popular demand. It was after the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) took a thorough round up of the security scenario and decided that it was okay to restart the plaza. Brig. RJ Sharma, president, PCB said, “We stopped the plaza as we were concerned about the safety of citizens. It was after taking a through round up of the situation and holding meetings with the police commissioner that we decided to restart it. Also, the public demand was huge.” Sharma added, “As far as the security is concerned, we have surveillance teams, security guards, and checks are conducted on anyone found suspicious. We also have reaction teams in place in case any untoward event happens. It was only after a lot of planning and careful assessment that we have taken this decision.” Public also expressed happiness over the restarting of the plaza. Pratik James, a student from a city college said, “It is good that the walking plaza has been started again. In fact it in a way shows that everything is coming back to normalcy.” Ambresh Dubey, the contractor in charge of the walking plaza said, “During the period when the plaza was suspended, I got many calls from people enquiring when it was to restart. I am confident that people will start turning out in large numbers as they used to before.” Brigadier Sharma also said, “People, who come to the walking plaza do not need to panic, and they are also advised to not fall prey to rumors. As far as the security goes the place has been sufficiently secured.”
