18 cops injured during agitation by locals against Purandar airport near Pune

Pune: A protest by locals against the proposed Purandar airport in Pune district turned violent during a drone survey of the site on Saturday, leaving 18 policemen injured, an official said.

Six of the protesters were detained after they clashed with the police during the agitation at Kumbharvalan village, the official said. The locals, however, accused the police of lathi-charging them.

The residents of a few villages in the vicinity of the proposed international airport in Purandar have been objecting to the project and obstructing officials from surveying the land with drones.

According to officials, some locals on Friday damaged the drones that were being used for the land survey.

Officials said a drone survey of 2,673 hectares of the land spread across seven villages – Kumbharvalan, Pargaon, Khanwadi, Ekhatpur, Munjwadi, Udachiwadi, and Vapuri – is being done for the airport project.

“Today (on Saturday), those opposing the survey were agitating at the proposed site, and because of that, no work could take place.

“When police tried to remove locals’ vehicles parked on the road, they started pelting stones. A total of 18 police personnel sustained injuries,” said Pankaj Deshmukh, superintendent of police, Pune rural police.

Six protesters have been detained, and the process to register an offence is underway, he said.

Meanwhile, locals claimed that an 87-year-old woman from one of the villages died of a heart attack as she was anxious over the airport project. But the SP said her death had nothing to do with the proposed airport.

The woman’s son alleged that his mother was under stress, as she feared that their land could be taken for the proposed airport.

Baramati MP and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule called Saturday’s protest and clashes extremely unfortunate.

“The government should have taken appropriate steps after understanding the sentiments of the citizens. However, the use of force (on protesters) is truly saddening. It is disturbing that locals were injured in this incident. The government should have shown restraint and sensitivity in view of the public sentiment. We strongly condemn this incident,” she said.