Pune: The New Year 2025 began with a surge of devotees visiting the iconic Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple for darshan. Crowds from Pune city, its suburbs, and nearby districts gathered in large numbers, creating heavy traffic congestion on major roads such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Road, Bajirao Road, and surrounding alleys.

As part of traffic management efforts, the road stretch between Appa Balwant Chowk and Budhwar Chowk (Hutatma Chowk) was temporarily closed. Despite these measures, Bajirao Road experienced significant disruptions due to high vehicular movement.

Parking issues added to the chaos, with cars forming long queues along riverside roads and two-wheelers haphazardly parked in narrow inner lanes, causing bottlenecks. The traffic congestion lasted until late at night, prompting the deployment of additional traffic police to maintain order.

The Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust, in collaboration with Suvarnayug Mitra Mandal, had adorned the temple premises with colorful rangolis and elaborate floral decorations to mark the New Year. Various religious programs were held throughout the day, attracting a continuous stream of devotees.

Other popular temples in the city, including the Siddhivinayak Temple at Sarasbaug, also witnessed large crowds. The event underscored the devotion of Puneites and highlighted the importance of crowd management and traffic planning during major religious gatherings.