Incessant rain for over 24 hours brought woes to city residents on Tuesday with the traffic being thrown out of gear in several areas of the city.
Several vehicles were found floating in the swollen Mutha river near Baba Bhide Bridge. The release of water from Khadakwasla dam led to a rise in the water level, partially submerging cars parked on the river bed near the bridge.
The downpour exposed the woeful drainage system on the city roads. Choked drains resulted in water logging in different parts of the city. Motorists had to struggle to get through the water-logged roads.
In many areas, bumper-to-bumper traffic brought misery to people returning home from work. Among the worst-hit areas were Pune Camp, Bund Garden Road, Karve Road, Kothrud, Jungli Maharaj Road, Fergusson College Road, the Peth areas, Laxmi Road, Bajirao Road, parts of Pune-Ahmednagar Road and Yerawada.
The stretch between the petrol pump near the regional traffic office and the College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) faced traffic chaos. Several spots in Pune Camp — among them Centre Street, MG Road, East Street and Shivaji Market — were water logged.
Police sub-inspector, Nilam Jadhav, of Deccan traffic division, told DNA, “We have posted our staff at various spots in our area. The main reason of the traffic chaos on JM Road is due to the ongoing sale at shopping malls and shops. As a result, people park their vehicles on the road,” she said, adding that the police were taking action against them.
Explaining the traffic chaos at Sancheti Hospital Chowk, Jadhav said, “The potholes near the CoEP hostel are creating problems. We have reported them to the Pune Municipal Corporation, but it has not taken any action so far,” she said.
Police inspector Vijaykumar Pansule (traffic administration), told DNA, “We have alerted the people via Facebook and SMS about traffic jams and water logging. We have blocked the river bed roads and had alerted people to take out their vehicles from the area since some cars were submerged,” he said. Several low-lying areas in Pimpri, Chinchwad, Akurdi and Bhosari were inundated.
The city fire brigade station received 10 calls about falling trees and two calls reporting electrical short circuits. The trees fell in Aundh, Vimannagar, Bundgarden and Deep Bungalow Chowk, but no casualties were reported.
The Pune fire brigade station officer, Sunil Gilbile, said staff of all fire stations in the city had been alerted.
Comments