E-Paper
White marks at blackspots: Hope for change?
The panchayat samiti and gram panchayat members, including the sitting legislator, claim to have held a meeting with the public works department (PWD) to execute a series of changes
Twenty-three black spots – defined by the city police as specific roads and/or areas were accidents repeatedly take place – mark Pune’s topography entering 2021.
The threat to lives of commuters and pedestrians at these 23 spots, several of them major chowks and thoroughfares in the city, is real.
The Undri chowk is one such blackspot, and has been for the past decade.
The panchayat samiti and gram panchayat members, including the sitting legislator, claim to have held a meeting with the public works department (PWD) to execute a series of changes to make the chowk safer for traffic.
The changes include, land acquisition to widen the chowk, completion of cementing the roads and erection of traffic safety signs.
Undri chowk connects the Katraj-Kondhwa-Mantarwadi bypass and therefore sees heavy traffic throughout the day. The chowk is a strategic junction which connects Khadi machine chowk, Kondhwa Budruk, Pisoli, Wadachiwadi and Saswad.
The poor road condition generates clouds of dust that block motorists’ vision.
Local residents allege that the condition of the chowk has made their lives miserable.
A spot visited by HT found huge potholes on the road made commuting difficult. There was a constant stream of heavy vehicles which led to severe congestion at Undri chowk throughout the day. No traffic police were seen at the junction at 12 noon on January 3, 2021.
Undri village, spread over a 10km area has a population of two lakh and was merged with the PMC in 1997. It was then de-merged in 2002 after objections were raised by the local gram panchayat.
Panchayat Samiti deputy chairperson Sachin Ghule said, “We have developed an elaborate plan for decongesting the chowk and making it safe for commuting. Recently a meeting was held and the PWD has agreed to pay pending dues to the tune of Rs 7 crore to the contractor and he will construct the road with all the safety guidelines given by the traffic department.”
Shweta Ghule Patil, former sarpanch of Undri village, said, “The chowk is prone to accidents and we have been following up with the government authorities. The PWD has committed that work will start soon. Authorities have been requested to make immediate changes to the chowk and permanently solve the traffic congestion and accidents issue at the chowk.”
Jawatmal Solanki, a businessman who has a shop at the chowk, said, “Dust is a serious issue and I am taking tablets due to complications arising out of dust due to heavy vehicles and traffic jams. We clean the chowk with tanker waters by spending from our pockets to avoid dust-related diseases.”
Prashant Inamdar, convenor, Pedestrian First, said, “The blackspot areas see very high traffic flow. There is a complete lack of planning which has led to this haphazard development of roads leading to accidents and fatalities. It is time for penal action including prosecution of concerned officials.”
The Mai Mangeshkar chowk in Warje, also on the traffic police’s black-spot list is prone to heavy traffic jams due to traffic coming onto the chowk from the service road. There is no traffic signage at the location.
Commuters find it difficult to locate the direction in which other commuters are moving, leading to accidents.
In a major accident at the Mai Mangeshkar chowk, an oil tanker exploded on the connecting flyover on December 5. The chowk led the list of blackspots for traffic accidents in the city released by the traffic branch in 2018.
Commuters habitually violating rules to travel short distances is also causing a number of accidents.
Social activist Vaishali Patkar said, “The chowk has become a major death trap and there is little the government authorities are doing to clear traffic congestion and reduce the growing number of accidents in the area. The rules of traffic are not being followed by commuters and we need greater presence of traffic police at the chowk. Also, the CCTVs must be activated to ensure that the violators don’t go unpunished. The citizen groups of the area must work closely with police and civic authorities.”
Area resident Virendra Chitrav said, “The service road is two-way, but that is a huge problem leading to congestion resulting from undisciplined driving. There is an auto-stand on the said road and two-wheeler parking is also a major issue. Parking areas must be earmarked properly and proper dividers must be in place.”
Inamdar futher added, “There is a need for holistic planning for the resolution of the prevalent problems at the accident blackspots. Citizens’ lives are precious and as taxpayers, it is the need of the hour for all the departments to come together to put an end to this menace forever.”
DCP (Traffic) Rahul Srirame said, “We will study these areas and based on new citizen inputs will add to the list of blackspots and ensure the earlier blackspots are successfully removed. Our efforts are to have no blackspots in the future, which we will achieve by coordinating with all the agencies of the government involved in traffic work.”
