The Maharashtra State Board’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations started on Tuesday across the state, with a total of 15,32,487 students appearing for the crucial exams. However, in Pune, several students faced severe traffic-related challenges on the very first day, despite many leaving their homes nearly an hour earlier than usual to ensure they reached their examination centres on time.
Students travelling from areas including Hadapsar, Katraj, and Sinhagad Road reported heavy congestion during morning hours, especially near major junctions and school zones.
Aishwarya Kulkarni, a science student, speaking to The Free Press Journal said, “My exam centre is hardly 8 kilometres away from my home in Dhankawadi, but it took me almost 50 minutes to reach SP College. I left home at 9.30 am to reach the exam centre. We can concentrate more on our studies at home if we do not have to rush to leave early. Today’s paper went well, but the tension of getting stuck in traffic affected my concentration before the exam.”
Anand Chaini
Anand Chaini
Another student, Rohit Jadhav from Wagholi, shared a similar experience. “There was a long traffic jam near Nagar Road. Our auto barely moved for 20 minutes. I kept checking the time and got really anxious,” he said. “For such important exams, traffic management should be better. We cannot trust PMPML as it breaks down any time," he added.
Mohammed Irfan, a commerce student from Kondhwa, highlighted, “My centre was at Annasaheb Magar Mahavidyalaya in Hadapsar, Manjiri Road. Traffic police were deployed on the road for smooth flow, but we are aware of the conditions, so we chose to leave home at least one and a half hours earlier. Additionally, we avoided Lonkar Chowk as it is one of the most famous junctions for traffic jams.”
Anand Chaini
Anand Chaini
Sanjay Satpute, a parent of a student, said, “Pune’s traffic situation has become really bad. My child relies on the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) buses for schooling. However, during the exams, we avoided choosing public transport because of traffic issues.” "PMPML has initiated a live tracking system in buses, but many of them are still not linked with the tracking system," he added, urging authorities to address the issue.
Meanwhile, Manoj Patil, Additional Commissioner of Police, speaking to The Free Press Journal, said that in case of emergencies, if students get stuck in traffic, they can call the Pune Traffic Police control numbers 02026685000 and 02026684000. “A dedicated nearby team will reach to help them reach the exam centres. We are consistently monitoring a few major spots known for traffic congestion, and accordingly, steps have been taken,” he said.
