Commuters using Jangali Maharaj Road, Karve Road, NDA Road, Ganeshkhind Road and Senapati Bapat Road in Pune are at risk of falling into open stormwater drains. Work on cleaning these drains has been underway for a few months now. The situation becomes even worse at night as there are no signage or barricades to warn commuters. Their lives are at risk as the roads are not well-illuminated.
Team Free Press Journal conducted a test drive on the roads to check their condition and found that roads have become rivers as rainwater has accumulated at various spots. In some places, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has removed the lids of the stormwater drains so that water can gush into them without creating any waterlogging situation. However, PMC did not put any barricades around the open drains to avoid any accidents. In some places, garbage is being dumped into the drain, choking it. At many spots uncovered drains were found.
Rahul Pradhan, a resident of Karve Nagar, highlighted, “My office is in Shivajinagar, and most often I use the Shivajinagar-JM road stretch. As you can see, the drains have been kept open by PMC, and they have not put any signboards or barricades. This kind of open drain becomes a death trap for the commuters passing by these roads. During heavy rains, it becomes foggy, and the street lights are not that bright. It’s a main road, so vehicles are moving here at speed. The civic body should not keep drains open like this, as it poses a risk for the commuters,”
Locals also point out irregularities in the work as waterlogging situations have occurred in various places.
“The entrance of Joggers Park in Viman Nagar has had a stream flowing in front of it since yesterday, and it has not stopped. One has to wade through the water to get in. The supervisors there say it is because of incomplete drainage work, and their complaints have gone unheeded. One chamber into which the water flowed has been filled up and closed off. A big sewage water line is required near Joggers Park," pointed out a citizen.
Team Swachh Kalyani Nagar (TSKN), a citizen forum wrote a letter to the commissioner regarding the waterlogging situation at Joggers Park and across Pune and suggested that laying an additional pipeline would be a solution.
Dinkar Gojare, superintendent engineer, drainage department, PMC, stated, “We will swiftly take action against the open drains on JM road. We have deployed a team of five in every ward to keep a check on the waterlogging situations and our team is working even late nights to better the situation. So far, we have changed 70 RCC drains on various sections of the road. We will promptly install barricades to avoid any mishaps.”
