Ganeshotsav 2025: Citizens Fear Ganpati Processions May Be Hampered Due To Potholes In Pimpri-Chinchwad

Pimpri-Chinchwad: Heavy rains since last week in the entire district have resulted in roads deteriorating once again. With only two days remaining until Ganeshotsav begins, pothole-filled roads can be seen all over Pimpri-Chinchwad. The state of the roads, with the festival about to begin, has led to dissatisfaction among citizens as the arrival of Lord Ganesha is being hampered.

Heavy Rain Turns Roads Into ‘Pothole Paradise’

The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) claims there are around 600 potholes in the entire city. However, a ground report analysis and residents say that the number may be greater. With developmental work for roads, subways, and the metro ongoing all over the city, and the added burden of rain, the potholes keep increasing.

Last week, after a month-long break, rain returned to Maharashtra, affecting its metro cities. The continuous downpour continued on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, leading to waterlogged roads. While the water on the roads has receded, the impact of the rain and the prolonged waterlogging has turned the roads into a "pothole paradise."

Transportation of Ganesh Idols Faces Major Challenges

There are hundreds of Ganesh Mandals in the city. Many times, they transport their large Ganesh idols using tempos or a trailer attached to a tractor. Drivers often complain that the shock-absorbing capability of these two vehicles is poor, so if the roads are bad, the impact can be felt twofold.

Also, many residents walk barefoot while bringing Ganesh idols home or sometimes travel in a family car, a two-wheeler, or an auto-rickshaw. Bringing the holy idol home will be a troublesome experience for families across the city as well.

Rakesh Yadav, a resident of Kalewadi and a worker at a local Ganesh Mandal, pointed out key problems with road deterioration in the wake of Ganeshotsav. He said, "Typically, we have an 8–10 foot idol every year. We bring it to our pandal with a tempo, and on the 7th day, we immerse it with a tempo as well. However, this year, the roads everywhere in the city are in a deteriorated condition. It makes it really tough to transport Lord Ganesha's idol. A single moment of impact can result in damage to the idols. If we go slowly to avoid impact, we cause traffic congestion. This is a really bad scenario."

PCMC Road Data & Pothole Repairs

According to PCMC reports, the city has roads ranging from 12 to 80 feet in width, totalling 2,073 kilometres of paved and unpaved roads, including asphalt and cement concrete. So far, 3,112 potholes have been found on these roads in the last four months. The PCMC claims to have completely filled 2,553 of them, using asphalt and cold mix (1,026), BBM (224), gravel (724), paving blocks (233), and cement concrete (346). This accounts for 81.07% of the total. The PCMC administration claims that only 559 potholes are yet to be filled, but potholes are visible everywhere on the city's roads.

Vishal Kalbhor, a resident of Akurdi, said, "The entire city's roads are full of potholes. The four days of rain have added to the number of potholes. The PCMC should fill these potholes before the public Ganesh festival begins. The large potholes on the Pimpri to Nigdi service road should be filled immediately. There is a possibility of accidents here due to the potholes."

PCMC Assures Repairs Before Ganeshotsav

The PCMC Administration has claimed that some potholes have reappeared due to weather conditions and that the work is ongoing. However, due to the ongoing rains, it is proving tricky to do the repair work on the roads.

PCMC's Joint City Engineer Devanna Gattuwar said, "Potholes have appeared due to the rain. The work of filling the potholes is underway at a fast pace. All potholes will be filled before the Ganesh festival begins."