VIDEO l Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Just 3 Months After Opening, Shivajinagar Underpass Floods During First Heavy Rain

The Shivajinagar underpass was opened for traffic three months back. The residents of the Satara area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar were relieved, considering that their traffic woes would be resolved after the opening of the tunnel. However, the unseasonal heavy rain that lashed the city and the surrounding area on Sunday exposed the claims of the PWD regarding the traffic solutions. On Sunday, the tunnel way proved to be a trap for the residents as water filled up to the waist in the tunnel. The traffic was jammed on both sides of the tunnel, and the residents had to wait for hours.

Unseasonal rain lashed the city and the surrounding areas on Sunday afternoon. The residents who had gone out of their houses for work were in trouble due to the sudden rain. The rain was so intense that several city roads were waterlogged. The Chhatrapati Shivajinagar tunnel way was closed for traffic since the afternoon, as the entire tunnel was filled with water. The vehicle owners going from Shivajinagar and coming from Deolai had to stop their vehicles near the tunnel. Some preferred to choose alternate routes. Some vehicles were even stuck in the rainwater. The garbage accumulated in the tunnel and the water was cleared by the fire brigade and the jetting machine of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) after a strenuous effort of around three to four hours.

The tunnel way was opened for traffic last February after a wait of around two years. The people even had to stage an agitation so that the tunnel way should be started soon. PWD had constructed the tunnel after spending lakhs of rupees on it. However, the huge expenditure seems to be a farce as the road planning strategy has been exposed by the very first heavy rain in the city. The residents had expressed deep dissatisfaction over the construction of the tunnel way.