Maha-Metro opens Babu Genu chowk for traffic ahead of Ganeshotsav

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) has opened Babu Genu chowk for vehicular traffic from Monday to avoid congestion during the Ganeshotsav celebrations

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) has opened Babu Genu chowk for vehicular traffic from Monday to avoid congestion during the Ganeshotsav celebrations. The route was closed for Metro work at Mandai station.

A road at Babu Genu Chowk going towards Mandai near tulshibaug reopens as it was closed for last few months due to metro work in Pune. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

“The subway work at Babu Genu chowk near Mahatma Phule Mandai is yet to be completed. For Ganesh festival, we have temporarily stopped the work at the stretch and levelled the road. We will close this road and resume work after the festival,” said Hemant Sonawane, public relations officer (PRO), Maha-Metro on Tuesday.

The 10-day Ganesh festival begins on August 31.

BJP MP Girish Bapat after meeting Mandai Ganesh mandal in July had asked Maha-Metro to open the road for traffic. The stretch was blocked since March 2022.

“As various stalls have been put up for the festive season, including Raksha Bandhan and holy month of Shravan, we decided to open the stretch for public,” said Sonawane.

Metro’s Mandai station is expected to get completed by March 2023. The station falls between Budhwar peth and Swargate. The tunnel excavation work was completed on June 5.

“Maha-Metro has taken the right decision to open the road as it is peak season for us due to coming festivals. Our business was low since last five months as the area was dusty and noisy because of Metro works,” said Subhash Zende, who runs a floral shop on Babu Genu chowk.