The recent heavy rains in Pune have laid bare the poor quality of the city’s infrastructure, raising questions about its designation as a smart city.
Even before the monsoon, the pre-monsoon work done by the Pune Municipal Corporation was washed away by pre-monsoon showers, drawing criticism from city activists.
Vivek Velankar, president of Sajag Nagarik Manch, highlighted that the recent two days of rain have exposed the poor quality of infrastructure in Pune, a city designated as a smart city.
Rainfall leads to potholes and waterlogging
"The downpour has led to large potholes and waterlogged roads, revealing the inadequacies of the municipal corporation. Since Wednesday midnight, many areas from Peth to Katraj have experienced prolonged power outages, leaving thousands of residents in darkness. Both the municipal authorities and Mahavitaran have blamed the rain for these issues, yet Mahavitaran has no explanation for why Mumbai, which receives more rainfall, rarely faces such outages," he added.
Velankar criticised the pre-monsoon maintenance efforts, calling the resulting blackouts a reflection of their poor quality. He pointed out that Pune is the highest revenue contributor to Mahavitaran in the state and has minimal power theft, yet the residents suffer due to the monopoly of Mahavitaran. Velankar argued that until there is competition in the electricity sector, similar to the telecom industry, Pune's residents will continue to endure these issues.
