Pune: Residents and farmers from more than 100 villages located in Bhor and Rajgad talukas staged a nearly three-hour rasta roko on Sunday, from 10am to 1pm, against a proposal to erect high-tension power lines on their lands.The protest caused a massive traffic jam on the Pune-Satara highway, used every day by thousands in Mumbai and Pune to reach Mahabaleshwar, Kolhapur, Konkan, Goa and other destinations. On Sunday, many motorists reported being stranded in jams for nearly three hours due to the protest, organized by the ‘Bhor-Rajgad Taluka Substation and Tower Line Removal Sangharsh Samiti’. Politicians also turned up at the protest, including Supriya Sule from NCP (SP) and BJP’s Sangram Thopte.The proposed power project, set to affect 116 villages (71 in Bhor and 45 in Rajgad taluka) includes a substation and a 765-kV transmission line.Vikram Khutwad, deputy president of the ‘sangharsh samiti’ said the power project is being set up on 80-85 acres of land by a private firm, through which power generated from a solar park in Gujarat will be transported to the substation.“Electromagnetic fields generated by the substation and transmission lines will adversely affect the environment and agricultural activities in our areas. At present, three transmission lines are proposed to originate from the substation, but the gazette notification indicates that more lines could pass through the area in the future,” Khutwad said, adding Bhor and Rajgad farmers have already given their land for several dams and other key projects. “So this substation has to be moved to some other place,” he said.BJP’s Thopte, who is president of the samiti, said: “Sunday’s protest was called off after the district collector, after speaking to CM’s office, assured us a meeting with the affected farmers would be held on Thursday. We are hopeful of a solution during that meeting.”Deputy superintendent of police, Bhor Division, Rajendrasingh Gour, said the rasta roko was peaceful. “There were no untoward incidents. We kept a lane open for emergency vehicles, and the protesters did not block it. An ambulance passed through. A person on his way to catch a flight also passed without delay. And families with children were allowed to pass,” Gour said, adding the crowd was being monitored by overhead drones.He added: “As soon as the protesters left the spot, we asked the toll operators to open their gates for vehicles. This helped clear stranded vehicles quickly.”
