City Engineer Prashant Waghmare is Pune’s GEM !!
Some people are born both with golden and diamond spoons. No, in this context I am not referring to the kids of rich daddies, but to a few officers who are gifted with everything..Gift of the Gab, Money Power, Muscle Power, flexible backbone, support from ‘own’ people when you need and everything you can ever dream off. Yes, there are few in bureaucracy, my dear readers! In Mumbai we have a few, but on that some other time, I discovered a ‘hidden’ GEM in Pune very recently…his name is Prashant Waghmare. Yes, someone told me behind closed doors that he is the undisputed ‘King’ in the Pune Municipal Corporation, who has not left his chair, never transferred, never promoted, never demoted for the past 25/26 years. A post that he holds is that of a city Engineer, which has unlimited power and influence on the city of Pune. In a year’s time Waghmare is set to retire. Isn’t this person worth calling a GEM for staying in a chair for the longest time and isn’t this a kind of record in the history of Pune Municipal Corporation?
Few people say he has had a controversial tenure, but when I spoke to nearly all the Municipal Commissioners who were his bosses, all referred to him as the ‘nicest’ human being in Pune Municipal Corporation with a flexible backbone, barring one, who kind of challenged Waghmare for sometime but then that IAS officers tenure was limited. Even this no-nonsense IAS officer couldn’t do anything for a longer time to disturb Waghmare. A friend of Waghmare tells me you know Vikrant, what is Waghmare’s favourite Hindi movie dialogue whenever any trouble comes knocking on his door? ” I said how would I know, and he said it is the famous one liner Feroz Khan had said in the movie ‘Welcome’ –“Abhi Hum Zinda Hai”..means never say die attitude!
This Waghmare as I said earlier has not had an easy career. Imagine what all he must have done to stay in one chair i.e. of City Engineer for the past so many years. When I said trouble above, he has had his share of challenges, his ‘Zagada’ with a straight forward IAS officer who was his commissioner, Anti Corruption seeking his property details, his own brother Pramod making few videos against him, but Prashant Waghmare has come out of this only due to his good nature and helping friends. Imagine 99% of your bosses are in awe of you, it is not easy especially in a Municipal Corporation and that too in a city like Pune, where the likes of BJP and NCP are at loggerheads always.
When the ACB wanted to investigate him, his then Municipal Commissioner denied the permission to ACB to investigate Waghmare…see the love, affection and warmth MC’s have and had for him. What do you all think? Ok, give me a straightforward answer and I won’t mind it..To stay in the same post weathering so many storms, Waghmare must be either of this : either he must be too good at his job, OR too corrupt to hold on to his prime post for so long OR too honest…You all tell me… Through this blog, I want to know Waghmare more. What his peers tell me is that he is excellent and exceptional at what he does as a city engineer. No one doubts his capacity. Man management, know how of the subject and so on and so forth. He is also known to be a man with a large heart when it comes to supporting a social or his own religious cause. And by the way, people questioning his financial status must know that it is due to smart planning of one of his ancestral properties at Wakad at Pune which he inherited. That’s OK nah, I am sure…
Now if there is so much good about him, there are detractors in the society too and I spoke to them. But no one came with any clarity. Through this blog, I am appealing to them, please come ahead with your stories and paperwork…Don’t worry even if Waghmare is set to retire in this year, our Deva Bhau Sarkar is there na…and I am sure, if you get anything, Waghmare will personally solve your problems/queries or he has his strong friend circle who will clear your doubts by coming to your home. At the same time if you try to extort him or blackmail him, then he has strong police connections too, let me tell you that also and plus an efficient legal team also…. Best part is people tell me, kisiki bhi sarkar hone do, all politicians favour him. be it Anna, Dada, or any Channa… I am also told in a lower tone by one of his friends, that even Ajit Pawar talks respectfully to Waghmare and minds his words when there is work to be done from Waghmare. We all know how Ajit dada can be on his bad days, yet dada is respectful towards him. Why, I often think? I think if Ajit dada is taking so much effort that means there is something about Waghmare which we all are unaware of.
By the way, from the Shah’s to Ranka’s, from Vipul’s to top bureaucrats of Pune, all will say only one thing…Waghmare is a man of golden heart. He is very dariya dil and *** samundar types..But he has a massive self respect..you readers are too much..when I write self respect, i mean it, it is not EGO…you have got a habit of reading too much between the sentences… …he has self respect…
Anyways, if Waghmare has decided to help you, he will go out of the way to move your file, but if he decides otherwise than even if you are partners with Pawar’s or BJP guys, he will not sign your file nor will let commissioner sign it, even if Bhagwan Shri Krishna comes down and tells him to do so. By the way, Waghmare has a lot of love and respect for ‘Gandhiji’. Now his son ‘Gaurav’ is getting trained under him…so nice na…Beta Gaurav, do learn the fine nuances from Baba as I have heard you are earning a fine reputation in Pune and representing your proud papa…Don’t pay any attention to any detractors, be like daddy…I love this Waghmare…bro he is ‘AMAR’ for me for this post…There won’t be another Prashant Waghmare as City Engineer Pune, hence I said ‘Amar’…No, readers, I know how cheap you can be…I am not talking about any Amar developer here, OK!!!
And Waghmare Saheb, one last thing, a little birdie tells me, that one ex BJP LOP is talking of some DRC of 5 lakhs of some TDR file or Dairy file and some Gavande someone was talking…I don’t know much but if I more information, I’ll call you…But isn’t this great, A Mumbaikar journalist taking a note of such a humble man from Pune…really hidden gem… Prashant Bhai…I would say, your next jump should be in politics now…
Waiting!
Vikrant Meena Hemant Joshi.
