Pune, 20th July 2026: Amusing weather following recent rainfall and the weekend holiday drew massive crowds to Sinhagad Fort on Sunday, leading to severe traffic congestion on the ghat road.
Around 11,000 tourists visited the fort on Sunday, while the combined footfall over Saturday and Sunday reached 18,327, putting heavy pressure on traffic management and forest authorities.
The rush resulted in a traffic queue stretching nearly three kilometres on the approach road to the fort. As the parking area reached full capacity, many visitors were forced to park their vehicles along the roadside and walk nearly 2 to 3 kilometres to reach the fort.
The roadside parking narrowed the already congested route, making it difficult for vehicles coming down from the fort to pass, which further worsened the traffic situation.
Forest officials and members of the Forest Management Committee worked throughout the day to regulate traffic. Authorities temporarily stopped vehicles near the Kondhanpur junction in an effort to reduce congestion.
However, the continuous arrival of tourists from the city during the afternoon made traffic management increasingly difficult.
Forest Range Officer Manoj Barbole said that once the parking area at Sinhagad was filled, many tourists parked their four-wheelers along the final stretch of the ghat road. This blocked the movement of vehicles returning from the fort and significantly increased traffic congestion.