Pune: Bibwewadi residents fear accidents at junction opposite D-mart; demand appointment of traffic police to regulate traffic

Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has undertaken the concretisation work of three junctions - Ahilyadevi corner, Chavan Nagar Arch (near the flyover end) and Bibwewadi corner in front of D-mart store on the Pune-Satara road. Due to this, Bibwewadi residents are facing hardships as all roads except the Swami Vivekanand statue road during the lockdown period and most vehicles are using the wrong lane to reach this road and thereby increasing the risk of accidents at this spot.

The junction concretisation is being done to prevent water-logging during the monsoon season. As a result, most of the lanes on the road near the junctions are closed for traffic. Pune traffic police department has diverted vehicular traffic on this stretch to avoid accidents but this is causing much inconvenience to commuters heading to and from Bibwewadi, Dhankawadi and Katraj.

Especially for Bibwewadi residents, instead of taking left from the Pushpa Mangal junction, they have to continue on Satara road and reach the Swami Vivekanand Statue and then take left to head towards Bibwewadi. Most vehicles flout basic norms in this stretch and thus residents have demanded that traffic police personnel should be deployed at the junction in front of D-mart to avoid accidents.

These three junctions were fitted with interlocking blocks earlier by the PMC. However, every year during the monsoons, these blocks would create waterlogging at the junctions. With a heavy downpour in the city, traffic on Satara road used to pile up for several kilometres. Out of the three lanes, nearly two lanes would be blocked due to the water accumulated at the junction and only one lane would be left for the entire traffic to be managed.

Pandurang Taware, Deputy Engineer from Road Department of PMC said, "Presently the lockdown is being implemented in the city due to which the volume of vehicular traffic is low on Satara road. Only those vehicles permitted for essential and exempted services are plying on the road and hence the work can be carried out in full swing. We intend to finish the work before the lockdown period ends so that commuters are not inconvenienced."

Edited by:
Khevna Pandit