The traffic snarls do not seem to end the commuters are struck for long hours on the raid in traffic jams. In a recent incident traffic congestion for more than 10 hours was reported from Theur Phata to Urlikanchan on the Pune-Solapur highway on the eve of ‘Anant Chaturdashi’ on September 18. While the city was busy in Ganesh Idol immersion procession commuters were stuck for more than 10 hours on the highway.
The citizens feel that the plan made by the Pune city police to solve the traffic snarls in the background of Ganesh immersion has failed significantly. The motorists were stuck in the slow-moving traffic which took more than one hour to pass one kilometre.
The Pune city police had altered the traffic routes to solve the traffic jam in the background of Ganesh immersion. On Tuesday, September 17th midnight, the traffic from Pune to Solapur was diverted from Theur Phata to Kesnand towards Nagar Road. So the drivers had to take a long detour to enter Pune. Some drivers prefer the alternate route however some drivers decided to wait in the traffic jam and enter Pune after the traffic moved. Which resulted in a major, traffic jam at the Theur Phata area from midnight.
The Loni Kalbhor Traffic Branch were deployed to regulate the traffic at the Theur Phata area from midnight. However, the officials were short staffed and the situation went out of control. The Kunjirwadi village locals along with the police swung into action to voluntarily help the police regulate the traffic. The highway traffic from Solapur towards Pune was restricted however the traffic from Pune to Solapur was open.
While the police were busy trying to clear the traffic jam, some motorists took advantage and started plying their cars and bikes on the wrong side of the road in from Pune towards Solapur creating even more problems. Due to this, the road from Pune towards Solapur was blocked due to the wrong side traffic. Hence the traffic on both sides of the highway came to a standstill and long queues of up to 10 kilometres were formed on the highway from Theur Phata to Uruli Kanchan. There was a traffic jam on the highway from half past midnight till 12 noon on Wednesday.
The traffic on the Pune Solapur highway was regularised after almost 10 hours of efforts by the police and the locals. The police were successful in regularizing the traffic and ensured the smooth flow of the traffic on the highway.
The locals claim that the Hadapsar, Loni Kalbhor, and Uruli Kanchan areas are expanding rapidly and the number of indiscipline motorists are on the rise. This Pune-Solapur highway is crowded on regular intervals, especially during peak hours and festivals. While some unruly citizens park their four-wheeler vehicles on the side of the road which causes traffic jams on the highway.
The additional charge of Loni Kalbhor Traffic Department has been given to the Hadapsar Traffic Department. The locals claim that the Pune-Solapur highway should have a dedicated traffic department.
The residents stated that despite knowing Pune Solapur highway is a traffic jam hot spot, especially during Ganesh Visarjan processions are underway the police should have planned accordingly and deployed more officials on the highway to regulate the traffic.