Ban on vehicles to Sinhagad fort after 2pm on Sundays

PUNE: To combat traffic snarls in the ghat section of Sinhagad fort in the weekends, the Pune rural police on Monday decided to ban the entry of vehicles at the historic site after 2pm on Sundays till the end of monsoon.

The decision was taken in the joint meeting the sub-divisional officer of the Haveli police, Sai Bhore-Patil, convened. Officials from the forest, irrigation and public works departments, Zilla Parishad, and sarpanch and deputy sarpanch of Khadakwasla, Ghera Sinhagad, Kirkitwadi, Nandoshi and Khadakwasla attended it.
The police have decided to divert the vehicles coming down from the fort to Pune via Kondhanpuir and Khed-Shivapur route to avoid traffic congestion at the foothills near Donje Phata and Khadakwasla. Parking of vehicles between Khadakwasla dam and Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) has been prohibited on the weekends. People would have to park their vehicles somewhere near DIAT gate and walk till Khadakwasla Chowpatty, said senior inspector Ashok Shelke of the Haveli police.
The move comes after a severe traffic jam lasting up to two hours on Sunday on the stretch between Khadakwasla dam and Donje Phata in the ghat section. To deal with the snarl, the police had to divert the traffic via Uttamnagar. The traffic coming towards Pune from Panshet was also diverted via Khed-Shivapur.
“If the number of vehicles is high on Saturdays, we will not allow vehicles on Saturdays too,” Shelke said, adding that the poor road condition also slowed down traffic.
“The public works department officials have promised to repair potholes immediately. They will also communicate with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) to shift some poles, affecting the fluidity of traffic in the area,” Shelke added.
Shelke said the Haveli police would take help from the Uttamnagar and Dattawadi traffic divisions on weekends to monitor the flow of vehicles towards the Sinhagad fort.