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Pune civic body leaving unfinished roads, risking commuters’ lives
The PMC started constructing CC roads at Sahakar Nagar, Kothrud, Ambegaon and Kharadi just ahead of the monsoon only to leave them unfinished after the second month of the rainy season, Hindustan Times has found
As if the situation wasn’t bad already, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is leaving cement-concrete (CC) roads unfinished in several areas of the city, forcing commuters to travel on such roads at their own peril. The PMC started constructing CC roads at Sahakar Nagar, Kothrud, Ambegaon and Kharadi just ahead of the monsoon only to leave them unfinished after the second month of the rainy season, Hindustan Times has found.
At Morebaug, HT found that one lane of the road has been partially concretised even as the remaining part continues to be a tar road, leading to a very uneven surface. Amar Shinde, superintendent-engineer of the road department, claimed that one lane is ready and work on the other lane will be carried out in the coming days. “Stormwater line and road construction work was being carried out simultaneously. Now, one lane is almost ready while the other lane will be constructed in July,” Shinde said. Work on the 400-metre-long road at Morebaug began in February but it is not even 50% complete after five months.
At Kharadi, the PMC road department has started concretisation of the road near Tuscan Society under public-private partnership (PPP). However, it is incomplete and people are suffering during the monsoon while walking or driving vehicles. Prashant Kulkarni, a Kharadi resident, said, “The work is going on at a slow pace and we are facing traffic chaos and cannot walk or drive vehicles properly.”
On his part, Shinde said, “The PMC is developing the road under the PPP model. Landowners are giving their land in phases which is leading to the delay. We have to still complete the remaining 200 metre stretch.”
Near Treasure Park on Satara Road, one side of the road has been completed and traffic has been diverted to complete the other side. Pandurang Deshpande, a resident of Treasure Park, said, “The road work started four months ago but it hasn’t been completed yet. Not only the PMC officials but also local representatives are not concerned about the problems faced by citizens. Many students have fallen down on this road. Senior citizens and women are not able to walk properly on the dug-up road. The PMC commissioner should have taken cognisance of the residents’ problems and instructed the contractor to complete the road and culvert work as early as possible.”
Whereas Shinde said, “We have completed 400 metre of road work so far. We gave the contractor a one-year deadline to finish the road. However, the work started late because the PMC water supply department was laying water lines, and the traffic police gave the permission to start late. The original deadline has passed, so we have submitted a proposal to extend it.”
At Dhankawadi, the PMC has undertaken road work from Mahesh Society to K K Market. Sanket Gandhi, a shopkeeper at K K Market, said, “The road work has been going on for over six months, but it is still not finished. Because of the excavation, people are not crossing the road to shop. We are just paying rent without making sales. Our business has suffered since the PMC started the road work. Who will pay the rent, and how will we support our families?”
Shinde however said, “At present, the drainage department is laying stormwater lines and carrying out the box culvert work. After completing the work, we will start the road work.”
At Ambegaon, the situation is not very different. Amol Shinde, a resident of Ambegaon, said, “We are fed up with the PMC’s work. They don’t care about people’s problems. Without local representatives, we have no way to raise our concerns with the administration.”
