Pune traffic may go for a toss as politicos hop pandals in poll season
With politicians making a beeline for Ganpati pandals to connect with voters ahead of the assembly elections, Pune traffic is likely to go for a toss, especially in the city’s old areas
PUNE: With politicians, senior and otherwise making a beeline for various Ganpati pandals in the hope of connecting with voters ahead of the state assembly elections, traffic in the city is likely to go for a toss, especially in the old parts where most of the key Ganesh mandals are located.
Pune member of Parliament (MP) and union minister of state Murlidhar Mohol is busy visiting pandals across the city ever since the Ganesh festival began. Not to be left behind, Nationalist Congress Party/NCP (SP) leaders like Jayant Patil and Supriya Sule, too, are busy pandal-hopping. Patil visited various mandals in the Peth areas on Monday while Sule is likely to pay a visit sometime this week.
Meanwhile, residents are concerned that the movements of politicians are likely to lead to traffic jams, especially on key routes such as Jangali Maharaj (JM) Road, Bajirao Road and Tilak Road as well as in the central parts of the city.
Varsha Deshpande, a banker and resident of Sahakar Nagar, recalled how she was stuck for over 30 minutes on J M Road and Tilak Road. “The traffic police were doing their best, but the VIP movements made it impossible to clear the traffic in time,” she said.
With chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar expected to visit the pandals in central Pune and other VIP visits also on the cards, the traffic situation is only set to worsen. Despite police bandobast, key routes in the Peth areas leading to popular mandals like Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari and Dagadusheth Ganpati are expected to be the worst affected. With thousands of devotees visiting the Manache Ganpati and other major mandals, traffic restrictions and road closures are going to be par for the course.
{{/usCountry}}With chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar expected to visit the pandals in central Pune and other VIP visits also on the cards, the traffic situation is only set to worsen. Despite police bandobast, key routes in the Peth areas leading to popular mandals like Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari and Dagadusheth Ganpati are expected to be the worst affected. With thousands of devotees visiting the Manache Ganpati and other major mandals, traffic restrictions and road closures are going to be par for the course.
{{/usCountry}}Union home minister Amit Shah visited the famous Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai on Monday and is likely to visit Pune’s Ganpati mandals as he did last year, according to BJP leaders. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, who rarely visits these venues, also made an appearance at Lalbaugcha Raja on the same day as Shah.
{{/usCountry}}Union home minister Amit Shah visited the famous Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai on Monday and is likely to visit Pune’s Ganpati mandals as he did last year, according to BJP leaders. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, who rarely visits these venues, also made an appearance at Lalbaugcha Raja on the same day as Shah.
{{/usCountry}}Even larger crowds are expected towards the end of the festival as many more idols, public and private, will be immersed during Gauri Ganpati and on the tenth and final day. For many Punekars, this means greater delays on the road and more chaos as more politicos are likely to visit the pandals before the festival draws to a close.
