Heavy rains have once again exposed the monsoon preparedness of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations, both of which have long projected themselves as "smart cities." Waterlogging, clogged drains and pothole-ridden roads triggered severe traffic congestion across several parts of Pune on Friday and Saturday, causing major inconvenience to commuters.
A lack of coordination between the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the traffic police led to kilometre-long traffic snarls on key city roads during peak hours, sparking widespread public anger against the administration.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Pune until Sunday, warning of heavy rainfall in the coming days and putting the city's civic infrastructure to a fresh test.
One of the worst-hit areas was Wagholi, where massive traffic jams were reported on the Pune-Ahilyanagar Highway from Saturday morning onwards. Long queues of vehicles were seen at major junctions, including Kesanand Chowk, leaving thousands of motorists stranded.
The poor condition of roads, numerous potholes and slow-moving traffic further worsened the congestion. In several stretches, vehicles reportedly took hours to cover just a few hundred metres, causing significant delays for office-goers and residents.
Earlier, heavy rainfall had brought traffic to a near standstill on several major roads connecting central Pune to its suburbs. Severe congestion was reported at Nagarkar Talim Chowk on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Road, Bajirao Road, Shanipar, Congress Bhavan to Ghole Road, Ferguson College Road, Senapati Bapat Road and Laxmi Road.
The continuous rainfall has also affected Bhor taluka, where heavy showers over the last two days disrupted normal life. Around 8 am on Friday, a landslide at Varandha Ghat blocked the Mahad-Bhor road after rocks and mud slid onto the roadway near the Warkhand-Shirgaon stretch. The incident led to long queues of vehicles on both sides of the ghat.
Authorities said there was no loss of life, but the road closure caused significant inconvenience to commuters and daily travellers.
