Pune crawls as traffic signals go dead

Pune: Vehicular traffic on several arterial roads in Pune including the Jungli Maharaj Road, Fergusson College Road and Maldhakka Road came to a standstill on Monday, as several signals stopped functioning due to water seepage in the cables.

While non-functioning signals resulted in snarls and potholes on the road slowed down the traffic, closure of city roads to provide smooth passage for chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s convoy added to the woes of the motorists.

Moreover, the quantum of traffic on various city roads increased on Monday as the schools reopened, bringing school buses and other vehicles ferrying students back on the roads.

It took nearly an hour to reach Deccan Gymkhana from Camp as a result of snarls at almost all vantage chowks.

Prashant Mohite (34), who was going from Pune station to Ferguson College Road on a two-wheeler, said, “I had changed the route four times to escape congestion and on every route I found myself stuck. It took me more than an hour to reach Fergusson College Road.”

Rohini Shinde (28), a resident of Bund Garden area, said, “After picking up my child from school, I thought of coming to Fergusson College Road to meet my friends. I was stuck in the traffic for more than 45 minutes. Not a single traffic signal was working on the route from Bund Garden to Fergusson College Road.”

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic branch) Vishwas Pandhare said, “Most of the traffic signals were non-functional due to heavy rain. We had our traffic cops at all major signals to manage the traffic. Water-logging in parts of the city is also one of the causes of traffic snarls.”

“Besides, we had to close some roads for a short while to provide smooth passage for the chief minister’s convoy. The number of vehicles on roads had increased due to reopening of schools,” he added.

Vantage chowks where 

signals were not working

Swargate

Tilak Road

Maldhakka Junction

Kasba Peth

Dnyaneshwar Paduka Chowk

Balgandharva Rangmandir Junction