Katraj, Pune

Overview
Katraj is a suburb situated in the south of Pune. It comes within the jurisdiction of Pune Municipal Corporation. The village lies at the foot of the Katraj Ghat or mountain pass on the main NH4 connecting Pune with places south of the city, such as Kolhapur and Bangalore. Some of the prominent localities situated close to it are Dhankawadi, Ambegaon Budruk, Bibvewadi, Narhe, Pisoli, Dhayari, Undri, Handewadi, Kondhwa, Wanowrie, Yewale Wadi among others. The Katraj–Dehu Road Bypass which is also known as Pune Bypass, is a 4-line Highway passes through outer parts of Pune city. One of the important software parks of the city-Hinjewadi is situated along the highway. Furthermore, the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, where the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games were held, is located along this road. The lakeside hosts the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park which is also known as Katraj Zoo is located here. A famous Jain Temple is also situated close to Katraj. Bharti Vidyapeeth, a deemed university has its main campus here. The locality is well-connected to various developed areas and a number of hotels, schools, banks and hospitals via an excellent network of railways and roadways

Connectivity
The Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass is a metropolitan highway serving the city of Pune. This highway stretches 40 km from Dehu Road in the north to Katraj in the south. It is a part of the National Highway 4 and was widened in early 2000s by the National Highways Authority of India from a 2-lane to a 4-lane highway. All westbound roads of the city intersect the Westerly Bypass.

The locality has excellent connectivity to Pune International Airport which is located at a distance of 23.8 km via Beed-Ahmednagar-Pune Road/Magarpatta Road/Mundhwa Road.

Shivajinagar, Pune Junction, Ghorpadi, Hadapsar, Saswad Road are its nearby railway stations. However, Pune Junction is the nearest and major railway station to Katraj, situated at a distance of 10 km via Swami Vivekanand Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Road.

The Pune Municipal Transport and PMPL owned bus service, serves the locality and connect it to areas of Santosh Nagar, Dar Nagar, and Yewalewadi.

Factors for future growth
The Pune mahanagar parivahan mahamandal limited (PMPML) operated Tejaswini midi-buses exclusively for women which has launched recently, now ply on the city roads for the entire day in place of morning and evening only. This will surely reduce the commuting time for the people using this route.

Proposed and planned infra
The Vanaz to Ramwadi Metro line may now extend to Wagholi and Lohegaon Airport.
The link to Lohegaon airport is missing in the current plan.
 

Infra development (Social & Physical)
Katraj provides its residents with all kinds of social amenities to live a happy and peaceful life. Some of the famous schools in Katraj includes Goodwill English Medium School & Junior College, Utkarsh English Medium School, Huzurpaga School, Rambhau, Mhalgi Primary School, FAME Pre Primary School,  Honey Bee Pre-primary School, Shivaji Secondary School, Holy Kids Educares, Ram Rajya Madhyamik School, Shivajii Secondary School among others. It also houses some reputed colleges in its vicinity. These are Pushpa Devi Dugad Jr. College, Goodwill English Medium School & Junior College, Vishwakarma College of Arts, Commerce, and Science, SVEP College of Technical and Management, Ideal College, Bharti Vidyapeeth Homeopathic College, Jaikranti College to name a few.

Healthcare facilities are also good in the locality. The locality includes hospitals such as Bharati Hospital, Dr Kabiya Clinic, Aayur Clinic, Sahyadri Hospital Bibwewadi, Pawar Hospital, Satyanand Hospital, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital and Research Centre among others.

Daily needs of the people are served by Abhiruchi Mall and Multiplex, Dorabjee’s Mall, Sixth Sense Shopping Centre, Om Shopping Center among few. It also houses retail outlets of famous national and international brands such as Bata Retail Outlet, Balaji Retail Outlet, Sai Retail Outlet, Arvind Lifestyle, India Retail Outlet, My Jio Store to name a few.