Road digging on Grand Challenge route draws sharp response from residents

The stretch near the Pulgate petrol pump, which falls under the Pune Cantonment area, had seen major improvement after almost a decade as part of the pre-event road works

Even as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) resurfaced nearly 75 km of roads across the city for the international Pune Grand Challenge cycling tour, fresh road digging was reportedly underway near Pulgate on Tuesday morning, drawing sharp reactions from residents.

Within days of being resurfaced, the road was dug up again while the cycling event was still in progress. (MAHENDRA KOLHE/ HT)

The stretch near the Pulgate petrol pump, which falls under the Pune Cantonment area, had seen major improvement after almost a decade as part of the pre-event road works. However, within days of being resurfaced, the road was dug up again while the cycling event was still in progress.

Civic officials said the PMC had undertaken large-scale resurfacing works, including repairs to carriageways, junctions and approach roads, to ensure smooth riding conditions for the event. Several old and damaged drainage chambers along these routes were also levelled and refitted with new covers to prevent accidents and ensure uniform road surfaces. Residents across multiple areas had welcomed the improved road conditions.

Hence, the sudden digging near Pulgate has raised questions about coordination between departments.

Alok Srivastava, a resident of the Camp area, said the road had finally become usable after years of neglect. “I use this road daily as my children go to a nearby school. Thanks to the cycling tour, we finally got good-quality roads. Seeing them dug it up again made me anxious,” he said.

Another resident, Rashid Khan, echoed similar concerns. “These roads were ignored by both the PMC and the cantonment authorities for years. Because of the cycle competition, we hoped the repairs would last at least till the next monsoon. It is disappointing to see digging start again, that too when the event is still underway,” he said.

Attempts to contact PMC road department head Aniruddha Pawaskar for comment were unsuccessful.