Traffic crawls on Pune-Bengaluru highway stretch amid works

KOLHAPUR: Longer commute time amid queues of vehicles has become a norm on Pune-Bengaluru national highway due to ongoing flyover demolition works on the Karad to Malkapur stretch.
Nilesh Chougule, a professor from Islampur who travels to Karad daily, said, "The vehicular movement is reduced to a crawl between the Malkapur and Karad stretch every day. I end up wasting at least an hour on average during the commute."
He said around 4km stretch between Nandlapur and Koyana river bridge has several road diversions marred by haphazard parking of vehicles by the locals. "This worsens the traffic flow further, especially during the peak morning and evening hours," the professor said.
Fed up with the daily traffic snarls, highway users have now demanded an alternative route for easy and smooth commute. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers from Malkapur have also threatened a rasta roko if the traffic issue was not resolved before the monsoon.
The traffic department of Satara district has deployed additional manpower on the Karad and Malkapur stretch to streamline vehicular flow. "However, the situation is unlikely to resolve till the work on the flyover is complete," an officer said.