Six months on, promises remain on paper as New Ganesh Colony sinks deeper into lawlessness

 

 

 

Six months after ‘The Hitavada’ first reported residents’ concerns on May 27, 2025, the situation at New Ganesh Colony in Pratap Nagar has deteriorated markedly. Far from seeing development, the long-promised open space has now turned into what locals describe as a “no-go zone” after sunset, with antisocial elements allegedly gaining control of the area in the evenings.

 

The land at Mouza Khamla, earmarked for a garden, green gym and children’s play facilities, belongs to Ganesh Gruh Nirman Sahakari Sanstha and falls under the jurisdiction of Nagpur Municipal Corporation. Despite repeated complaints, residents say illegal encroachments have expanded, public drinking has become routine, and garbage dumping is unchecked. Women, children and senior citizens now avoid the area entirely after dark due to safety concerns. Ironically, official correspondence paints a very different picture. Letters from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat and the Laxmi Nagar Zone confirmed that the plot is indeed an open space, with a detailed estimate of Rs 83.43 lakh prepared for a garden, green gym, play equipment and a safety wall. The proposal, dated early 2025, clearly states that work would commence once funds were sanctioned.

 

Yet, on the ground, not a single brick has been laid. Residents allege that certain individuals have blocked access roads through encroachment. Matters have worsened since dusk, locals say, with alcohol consumption and unsocial behaviour peaking nightly. Complaints have been lodged with the Pratap Nagar Police Station, the encroachment departments of both civic bodies, and even raised at the Janta Darbar of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, but without result. With official approvals stuck in limbo and enforcement conspicuously absent, New Ganesh Colony’s residents fear that the longer authorities delay, the harder it will be to reclaim the space from encroachers and antisocial elements. Six months on, hope is thinning, replaced by anger and anxiety over a rapidly worsening civic failure.