VIP rush holds traffic for 3 hours

Commuters near Balewadi stadium on Friday had to wait for 2-3 hours in the traffic due to a major snarl caused by the heavy rush of VIPs who kept flowing in for the high-profile wedding of Kadam-Bhosale family. The traffic flow was disrupted in Baner, Balewadi, Wakad and Aundh areas.

Sensing the high-profile guests including ministers at the wedding, the traffic police had deployed additional police force for swift movement of VIPs and for that they had restricted entry of other vehicles towards Balewadi stadium.

Mandar Joshi, a Balewadi resident, said, “Usually, there is not much traffic in Balewadi, but today I was stuck in jam for almost an hour, though my house is just 15 minutes away from the highway.”
Kunal Pandhare, another Balewadi resident, said, “Better management by the traffic would have eased the problems of commuters.”

At the stadium, the entry for VIPs was arranged at the gate near Hotel Orchid, while others were given entry at the gate near Mhalunge village. The problem started when the VIPs started leaving the venue.

Arundhati Saraph, a commuter, said, “The traffic on Baner Road was completely thrown out of gear. The snarl started from Food Bazar and went on further. As I was on my two-wheeler, I could manage to navigate through the snarl, but it was difficult for four-wheelers to get out of the traffic.”