After Kundmala Tragedy Kills 4 Tourists, Pune Admin Orders Massive Crackdown On Unsafe Bridges And Roads

After the tragic incident at Kundmala in Maval taluka that claimed the lives of four tourists, the district administration has opened its eyes and issued strict orders to conduct a structural audit of bridges, culverts, roads, buildings, wadas, hoardings, etc.

Meanwhile, Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi has given strict instructions to various officials of departments including Disaster Management and the Public Works Department to conduct a structural audit in fast mode to prevent such incidents in the future. Dudi said the guidelines should be strictly followed during disasters.

Other directions

All old and potentially dangerous structures such as bridges, culverts, roads, buildings, wadas, hoardings, and railway bridges must be audited within 7 days, and the reports should be submitted to the District Disaster Management Cell.

Any structure found unsafe during the audit should be removed immediately, without causing inconvenience to the public.

Hazardous spots across the district must be identified and inspected, and public awareness about these locations should be created through various media.

Roads prone to waterlogging during the monsoon should be barricaded. Tourists must be prohibited from visiting dangerous locations, and clear directional signboards must be placed with the help of forest officials.

Mock drills should be conducted at the risky zones and additional staff should be deployed wherever necessary. Taluka-level control rooms must operate 24/7 during the monsoon.

Flood-prone villages should be surveyed and necessary measures implemented in anticipation of possible floods.

The Health Department must ensure the availability of hospital beds, medical officers, ambulances, blood banks, and medicines.

Residents of landslide-prone villages should be educated about early warning signs and necessary precautions.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department has clarified that ₹8 crore was sanctioned for the parallel bridge at the river on July 11. The final work order for the construction was issued just 5 days before the incident, said an official from the PWD. The election code of conduct was the reason for delays in starting the construction of the bridge.

Raju L. Thange, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Road Department (PWD), speaking to FPJ, said the bridge which collapsed was constructed with iron and steel metals and had exceeded its life span. However, the newly constructed bridges have a lifespan of more than 50 years.

All 31,158 bridges under Pune Regional PWD have been inspected for safety across Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, and Solapur districts.

According to official data, the inspections were carried out based on the length of the bridges.

In the Pune PWD division, a total of 10,006 bridges were inspected, including 2 bridges longer than 200 meters, 117 in the 60–200 meter category, 707 between 30–60 meters, and 9,180 bridges below 30 meters.

Thange said maintaining the safety of bridges is a top priority. Necessary repair work has been identified during inspections and will be done soon.

Naval Kishore Ram, Commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation, said that out of 98 bridges, PMC has already audited and strengthened 38 bridges. The rest will be done soon in the coming days. Strict instructions have been given to the dedicated department.