Residents From Baner, Balewadi, Radha Chowk, Hadapsar, And Pimple Saudagar Raise Traffic Concerns As Chaos Rises Due To Absence Of Cops

Just days after Pune Police claimed that city traffic has reduced, several roads in Pune along with a few areas in Pimpri Chinchwad are currently witnessing regular traffic chaos. Residents claim that the absence of traffic police has made the situation even worse.

Residents from areas like Baner, Hadapsar, Camp, and Pimple Saudagar claimed that they face traffic congestion on a regular basis.

Neeraj Nagarale, a resident of Baner, said, “Several spots across Pune lack traffic police at major chowks during peak hours when traffic flow is high. This creates a lot of chaos at the signals. At Radha Chowk, the traffic is insane, and most of the time, there are no police personnel to manage it. This is not just at a few spots; it’s happening at major chowks.”

At Radha Chowk, the Balewadi side of the highway falls under Baner Police Station (Pune Commissionerate), while the side of the chowk towards Mhalunge is under Hinjawadi Police Station (Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissionerate).

‘It’s quite frustrating’

Shikha Pandey, a commuter working in Hadapsar, said, “At Khanya Maruti Chowk in Camp during peak hours, traffic cops were absent. This creates a lot of chaos, and it’s quite frustrating. More cops should be deployed to stop the traffic menace and ensure smooth traffic movement.”

Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh Chouhan, a resident of Pimple Saudagar, said, “There is major traffic at Shivar Chowk signal in the Pimple Saudagar area. The road ahead leads to Rahatani, and towards the left, it connects to Kunal Icon Road, a key route linking Wakad, Nashik Phata, and the old Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Bangalore highways. This makes it a critical corridor for the city’s traffic flow. However, due to the absence of police personnel at the chowk, it takes 10 minutes just to turn right towards Kunal Icon Road.”

“The traffic is so bad that it almost takes 20 minutes to cross a 1-1.5 km stretch. That chowk needs at least five traffic police personnel to ease the congestion. Swiggy and Zomato riders are ruthless; they don’t follow the rules, and no one is there to stop the traffic menace. Police are seen only once in 15 days, and that too just to collect fines. We daily commuters are facing so much hassle, and it’s frustrating to waste 20–25 minutes just to travel 1 km. What are we getting as law-abiding citizens?” he added.

The Free Press Journal tried contacting Pune Traffic Deputy Commissioner of Police Amol Zende but couldn’t get a response.