Pune, 19 September 2025: A sudden spell of heavy rain on Thursday evening once again revealed the gaps in the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) pre-monsoon preparations. Within an hour of the downpour, several parts of the city were submerged, turning busy streets into flowing streams and leaving commuters and pedestrians wading through knee-deep water.
PMC had claimed in May that all stormwater drains and nullahs had been desilted ahead of the monsoon. However, much of the removed silt was dumped around the drains instead of being fully cleared.
As rains lashed the city this week, this silt washed back into the drainage system, blocking water flow and triggering flooding across key areas. Thursday’s rain repeated the chaos seen just two days earlier.
Starting around 5 p.m., heavy showers drenched central Pune and surrounding suburbs including Shivajinagar, Khadki, Aundh, Baner, Bavdhan, Kothrud, Sinhagad Road, Warje, Dhanakwadi, Katraj, Bibwewadi, Kondhwa, Hadapsar, Yerwada, Vishrantwadi, Vadgaon Sheri, Kalyaninagar, Viman Nagar and Mundhwa.
Major roads in these areas resembled rivers, forcing two-wheeler riders and pedestrians to navigate through gushing water. Many vehicles stalled after water entered their engines, causing long traffic snarls and stranding commuters during the peak evening rush.
Though the intensity of rain reduced by 6 p.m., water receded only slowly as drains remained clogged with garbage, mud and silt. In several areas, residents, traffic police and civic staff were seen manually clearing chamber covers to allow water to drain, but in many places there was no outlet for the floodwater, leaving entire stretches submerged.
Even as citizens shared photos and videos of flooded roads across social media, PMC’s disaster management cell reported no major complaints. Officials monitoring CCTV feeds claimed that key junctions appeared clear, with no signs of waterlogging or traffic disruption.
By 6 p.m., the control room had not received a single distress call, highlighting a glaring gap between on-ground reality and the civic body’s monitoring systems.
Thursday’s deluge has once again raised serious questions about PMC’s monsoon readiness, its drain-cleaning practices, and the reliability of its disaster management network.
