Traffic speed in Pune up by 10% after road repairs and encroachment removal.
Civic chief warns officials against neglecting minor works.
PMC to seek state cap on rising autorickshaw numbers.
Pune, 29 October 2025: Preparations for the upcoming Pune Grand Challenge Tour, an international cycling event to be held in January, have brought noticeable improvements to the city’s road network. Over the past month, coordinated efforts by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and city police to remove encroachments, repair roads, and fix bottlenecks have helped increase average traffic speed by up to 10%.
Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said officials must not ignore small repairs or pending works, warning that negligence would lead to strict action. He emphasized that the current pace of improvement should continue so that traffic conditions improve further before the event.
A joint meeting between the PMC and police, attended by Additional Municipal Commissioner Omprakash Divte and Additional Police Commissioner Manoj Patil, reviewed ongoing road improvement projects. Reports were presented for 32 key roads and 22 junctions identified as traffic congestion points.
According to officials, encroachments at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Chowk in the Cantonment area have been removed, underground valves relocated, and road chambers levelled. Similar upgrades are underway across multiple parts of Pune to widen bottleneck areas and smooth vehicle movement.
Police official Manoj Patil noted that the combined efforts of civic and police teams had already improved traffic speed by five to ten percent. Remaining works at several roads and junctions will be completed soon, as directed by the commissioner.
Commissioner Ram also highlighted the growing number of vehicles in Pune as a serious challenge. The city sees an annual increase of around 400,000 vehicles, while autorickshaws have risen from about 20,000 to over 150,000. He said the PMC would urge the state government to impose restrictions on new autorickshaw permits to control congestion.
Ram added that although large-scale projects like metro extensions and development plan (DP) roads would take several years, short-term measures are crucial to ease the city’s immediate traffic burden.
He admitted that while the PMC lacks sufficient manpower and funds, administrative delays worsen small issues. He cited his recent inspection of Solapur Road, where conditions improved only after disciplinary action was taken against negligent officials.
Meanwhile, at Shree Control Chowk in Narhe, long-standing issues caused by encroachments and disused vehicles are finally being addressed. Several electricity poles belonging to MSCB will be removed within a month to ease congestion. The area had faced delays due to boundary disputes between the PMC and PMRDA, but work is now set to move forward, officials confirmed.
Overall, Pune’s civic and police authorities are working in tandem to ensure smoother traffic movement ahead of the global cycling event, marking a positive step toward sustainable urban mobility.
