Pune: Activists raise voice against MIT, vouch to save Vetal Tekdi

Pune: Activists across the city have together to oppose the construction undertaken by Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), a prominent education institute in the city. They have raised their voice against the institute and its intent to construct 20 feet wide road to the top of their section of the Vetal Tekdi.

Their stated purpose is to build an access route for providing water to a planned park at the top and b) an alternative road for their students from Paud road.

They have started an online petition called Save Vetal Tekdi and are urging people to join the movement.

While they do understand that survey no. 123 on the hill slope and hill top of Vetal tekdi may officially belong to MIT, but the tekdi itself, the grasslands and forests on it and the precious aquifers it contains benefit all Punekars. We all have a stake in preserving this tekdi as a Natural Heritage site for future generations.

Writing to the MIT authorities, the activists, said, “To the Director, MIT, as you at MIT – World Peace University have said, so correctly, “Sustainability is not a choice, it is a necessity” – we request you therefore to withdraw your proposed projects on the hill, restore the damaged portion, and show the way as leaders in sustainable conservation of Pune’s natural heritage.”