Absence of Barricades, Reflectors, and Speed Breakers Lead to Traffic Woes

The stretch of Sinhagad Road between Parvati Bridge and Dandekar Pool has become a nightmare for commuters and local residents. The absence of barricades, reflectors, speed breakers, and indicator symbols has turned this crucial roadway into a hotspot for traffic jams and accidents.

Residents speak up

Deepak Waghmare, a local resident, speaking to the Free Press Journal, said, “The road has become a daily ordeal, as vehicles rarely slow down in the absence of proper markings or speed breakers. The situation is chaotic. No one follows traffic rules here because there are no signs or symbols, leading to regular traffic jams. Crossing the road feels like risking your life. People find themselves struggling to cross the road.”

Another resident, Sunil Kadam, expressed, “The situation becomes more serious due to recent maintenance work carried out by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The road was dug up for water pipeline repairs but was left improperly constructed. The PMC road department failed to restore the road adequately, leaving it without markings, white strips, or warning barricades. In the absence of barricades, vehicles take U-turns directly from anywhere they find a place to turn.”

Priyanka Patil, a college student, highlighted, “Driving at night is terrifying. There are no reflectors or barricades to guide vehicles. These are cemented roads and are slippery. It is a very hard situation for commuters who want to cross the road. The material used for reconstruction of the road is very poor. The repair work is damaged shortly. There is no particular number to complain about.”

Sahu Bai Waghmare, a senior citizen, said, “PMC work is always the worst. Not only on this road, but we can easily see that the tarmac road is being replaced by cemented roads fixed with concrete materials. Once the road is dug up, it never turns out as real as it was. They just make money. Now, the situation has become more dire due to traffic diversion, with heavy vehicles like buses and containers passing from Sinhagad to Solapur, despite Katraj Road.”