E-Paper
Regulated vehicle movement at Sinhagad Fort
Heavy rush at Sinhagad Fort since the onset of monsoon has forced forest authorities to regulate vehicle movement at the ghat section
PUNE: The heavy rush at Sinhagad Fort since the onset of the monsoon forced forest authorities to stop vehicles from going onto the ghat section road five times during the day last Sunday. To avoid a repeat scenario, Sinhagad Fort forest authorities will now begin a timewise release of vehicles from both sides onto the ghat section road from the coming weekend. The decision has been taken to avoid accidents given that the ghat section road is narrow.
Pradip Sankpal, range forest officer, Pune Forest, said, “Last weekend, there was a heavy rush of tourists at Sinhagad Fort due to which there was major congestion on the ghat section road. We had to stop vehicles from going onto the ghat section road five times during the day on Sunday. We are now planning a timewise release of vehicles from both sides.”
“As per our plans, vehicles from the bottom of the fort will be released to the top of the fort for one hour at the check post. During that one hour, none of the vehicles will be released from the parking at the top of the fort to the bottom of the fort. During the next one hour, vehicles will be released from the top of the fort to the bottom of the fort whereas none of the vehicles will be released from the bottom of the fort,” Sankpal said.
Ever since the rainy season has started, there is a rush of Punekars, students and tourists coming from all over to Sinhagad Fort and most of them visit the fort during weekends, making it especially crowded.
Amol Pol, a citizen, said, “We often go to Sinhagad Fort for trekking with family. But since the last one year, we have stopped going on weekends as there is a heavy rush and we are stuck in traffic jams for hours.”
Another citizen, Vaibhav Jadhav, said, “I had gone to Sinhagad Fort last weekend and we were stuck in traffic for over two hours in the evening. There is no place to move in the ghat section and there is a risk of accidents.”
On May 1, 2022, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) electric bus (e-bus) service to the fort and back was inaugurated by the then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. Between May 2 and May 16, 2022, a total 47,000 passengers travelled by the PMPML e-buses, generating a revenue of ₹22 lakh. The e-buses had a width of nine metres and 32 seats. From May 17, 2022 however, the PMPML e-buses were closed down in the ghat section due to safety issues while private vehicles were allowed to go to the top of the fort.
