The unpreparedness of the city's municipal corporation for the upcoming rains was exposed when the pre-monsoon showers continued to lash the city for the second consecutive day on Friday.
The Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) unpreparedness for the upcoming rains was exposed when the pre-monsoon showers continued to lash the city for the second consecutive day on Friday.
The civic administration is 'still struggling' to complete the works like laying underground pipes or constructing box culverts by digging roads.
The traffic police and civic activists fear that these dug-up areas could turn into killer zones during the rainy season.
A visit to four spots in the city — Pashan Road, two at Bavdhan Chowk and Model Colony — on Wednesday revealed parts of these busy thoroughfares have been dug up deep by contractors appointed by the PMC.
From the work progress, one can observe that it will not be completed before the monsoon sets in.
Even though the work at Model Colony, near the residence of PMC commissioner, is progressing well, it is being carried out at a snail's pace at the other three locations.
While there was no labourer at the work site on Pashan Road (near National Chemical Laboratory), those at the site at Bavdhan Chowk told DNA that the work has stopped for the last four days as the contractors have not provided life jackets to go down the dug-up area for construction work.
The visit also revealed the alleged violation of traffic rules by contractors for carrying out such work.
"It's dangerous for commuters, especially those travelling after sunset, if proper safety measures are not taken at such sites," a traffic police official said.
According to rules, a person has to be stationed round the clock at the site. Red indicators/reflectors should be put up to alert commuters using the road at night. And no vehicles should be stationed on the side of the area where the work is progressing.
"We found a lorry stationed near the Pashan Road site recently. The vehicle was used to carry mud from the dug up area. We imposed a fine of Rs1,900 on the lorry driver," traffic police officials said.
The traffic police plans to issue notices to contractors for allegedly violating rules.
Residents have criticised the civic body for not planning and completing the work before monsoon. "If there is a mishap or death due to such diggings, shall not PMC be blamed," Pedestrians' First convenor Prashant Inamdar said.
He said footpaths also get blocked due to these ongoing works. "It is imperative for the PMC to see that contractors take all safety precautions. In case of default, the civic body should take necessary timely steps for public safety and recover the costs from contractor with stringent penalties," he said.
Majority of work is complete:
PMC additional city engineer Vivek Kharwadkar said the work of construction of box culverts started with the budgetary allocation made post the mid-term budget analysis in October last year.
"The monetary grants came to us only in January and we started the work of tendering. However, majority of the work has been completed," he said.
The delay in the above mentioned places, according to him, was due to the time taken by the concrete to cure and set. "We are confident that the work will be over within the next one month. We have not received any case of it causing any public inconvenience," he said.
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