Pune: City Remains Dug Up Ahead of Monsoon, PMC Faces Criticism

With the monsoon expected to start in the next ten days, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) faces criticism for failing to meet the May 15 deadline for completing road excavation work.

Several areas such as Kharadi, Kondhwa, NIBM, Hadapsar, and Kasturi Chowk at Mahrana Pratap road, among others in the city, remain dug up, causing significant inconvenience to residents.

The ongoing works, often delayed and poorly planned, are affecting daily commutes and local businesses.

Akshay Poorey, a resident of Kharadi, speaking to Free Press Journal said, "A few days earlier, the contractor repaired Alcon Renaissant, Nagar Road, Tulaja Bhawani Nagar, Kharadi; however, it has been dug up again, and citizens are left to face inconvenience."

Tara Singh, a resident of Kondhwa, speaking to the Free Press Journal said, "Infrastructure should always be completed on time. It always goes behind the deadline. It will be better if the leftover work is done before June 5 as the monsoon is set to start."

"To fit up the High Tension line near Rahuja Circle Phase 1, 2, and the road that goes to Undri Chowk, MSEDCL work is going on. The underground line should be set up during the construction of a road. To dig the road again and again is the failure of plans by authorities. Another issue is at NIBM road; first, they constructed the road, and now again the road was dug up to fit water pipelines. Authorities should have a proper plan to execute on time," he added.

Commuters affected

Pradeep Pawar, a resident at Kasturi Chowk, said, "At Maharana Pratap road, road excavation has been happening for the last month but has not completed yet. Every year the roads are dug up, and the result becomes zero after a few days. This affects our business. Commuters are facing inconvenience; they are forced to take a long way to reach their destination. Work should be finished as soon as possible. The situation will become horrible in the next ten days if it is not done so far."

PMC official reacts

Speaking to Free Press Journal, Aniruddha Pawaskar, Chief Engineer (Road department), PMC, said, "Important projects are ongoing by the water and drainage department; they cannot stop them for 5 months altogether. These works are useful for the city. So the excavation is going on at many places."

"But we will ensure that it will be done in stages like 100 meters of stretch will be excavated, the line will be put, and the ditches will be filled. Accordingly, they will proceed further. So in that way, people will also not face inconvenience. Secondly, whenever there is a fault in MSEDCL lines, we need to give them permission for excavation because it's a matter of power and public inconvenience. Barring these, though other excavations permitted in the city and where we find, we will penalise them heavily," he added.