Total chaos as Pune traffic police missing at main chowks during peak hours

The Hindustan Times team visited several spots in Pune cantonment, Bhavani peth, Yerawada, Bibvewadi, Shankarsheth road and Mangalwar peth during evening peak hours

PUNE: For the past few days, most city roads have been witnessing heavy logjams largely due to rain, potholes and non-functional traffic signals. What’s more, traffic police have been found missing during morning- and evening- peak hours, much to the disappointment of commuters. The Hindustan Times team visited several spots in Pune cantonment, Bhavani peth, Yerawada, Bibvewadi, Shankarsheth road and Mangalwar peth during evening peak hours and found chaos at most places, with citizens left to fend for themselves.

At around 5.30 pm at Neelayam chowk, commuters were left with no room to manoeuvre their vehicles as heavy rain lashed the city. (Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO)

At the busiest thoroughfare at Khadi Machine chowk – officially declared a black spot – none of the traffic policemen were found when the team visited the area at around 4.45 pm. Citizens were a harassed lot, thanks to constant honking and bumper-to-bumper traffic, with the rain making the commute even more difficult.

At around 5.30 pm at Neelayam chowk, commuters were left with no room to manoeuvre their vehicles as heavy rain lashed the city. With traffic policemen missing, there was a complete lack of traffic discipline. Buses, cars, two-wheelers and autos were found stranded at various places. Sangita Rajmane , a two-wheeler rider who was stuck at Neelayam chowk, said, “Although flooding is not as bad as previous years, still there are traffic jams. People are driving vehicles according to their whims and fancies and want to reach their homes by breaking lane discipline. There is complete chaos and traffic policemen are absent. With them not there, who will enforce traffic discipline? There has been a logjam for over 20 minutes and nobody is intervening, causing citizens to suffer.”

At 6.30 pm at Bibvewadi chowk as well, there was a complete breakdown with no police presence to decongest the area. Commuters were stranded for more than half-an-hour before some vigilant citizens decided to manage the traffic. “Bibvewadi witnesses heavy traffic coming from Sahakarnagar, Kondhwa, Bharati Vidyapeeth and other areas. At least four policemen are needed to control the traffic but there were no traffic policemen present to help the citizens. When citizens are paying taxes, why are policemen shirking their duties?” said a commuter on condition of anonymity.

Civic activist Danish Khan said, “Traffic policemen have been absent ever since the police top brass ordered that they enforce traffic discipline rather than fining citizens. It is the duty of the policemen to ensure that traffic is regulated at different chowks and no inconvenience is caused to citizens.”

However, DCP (traffic) Rahul Srirame, said, “There are challenges related to intense and heavy rain which make traffic enforcement during the monsoons difficult. However, a maximum of our men are on ground helping citizens along with regulating traffic.”

The city joint commissioner had ordered that the traffic police must regulate traffic rather than fining citizens after a barrage of complaints on social media about corruption and highhandedness towards citizens.