Pune: Jayesh Murkute Foundation in Baner-Balewadi has decided to use the funds it collected for Dahi Handi celebrations to fill potholes and avoid splurging.The move followed recent deaths of two youngsters in Mhalunge linked to poor road conditions.“We felt it was better to use the money for public good and celebrate the festival modestly,” said Murkute, who had contested the PMC elections on an NCP (SP) ticket.Murkute said the whole project remains self-funded. “As a society, we could not accept that two people – a 11-year-old and another 25-year-old – lost their lives because of poor road infrastructure,” he said.“These tragedies could have been averted if the system had done its work on time. We just decided to use our own funds to rectify potholes. We would use concrete where the potholes are small and gravel in cases of bigger stretches,” said Murkute.He said he and his team have already received multiple messages and pictures of the potholes that needed to be fixed since he put up the messages on citizen WhatsApp groups two days ago. “We would sort it out and start work next week. Our budget has been limited, so we would concentrate on Ward 9, which covers Baner, Balewadi, Pashan, Sus, Someshwarwadi, Mhalunge, and Sutarvadi,” he said, adding that we have a meeting planned with Rajesh Bankar, in charge head of the road department, to discuss more budget and road conditions in the area.
