Massive traffic jam at Shastri Road due to MPSC aspirants’ protest

PUNE Despite the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) announcing the postponement of the exams, MPSC aspirants continued their protest on Thursday, blocking Shastri Road and central parts of Pune, including Tilak Road, Karve Road, Kumthekar Road, Navi Peth, Sadashiv Peth and surrounding internal roads.

Earlier in the day, the MPSC announced that it had postponed the state services preliminary exam, originally set for August 25.

Prashant Karne, a parent, said, “I was going to drop my son at his school on Tilak Road, but with the long vehicle queues, it took us over 40 minutes to get there from Abhinav College Chowk.”

Another resident, Swarali Rathi, recounted her experience, “This afternoon, we were stuck at Shastri Road for over an hour because of the student protests. We had to take a long route to reach a family function due to the road closure.”

Ramesh Chavan, a senior citizen, and resident of Navi Peth, said, “I’ve lived in Navi Peth for 50 years, and it used to be a pleasant area. But in the last 10 to 15 years, these student protests have created many problems, especially with traffic. We can’t go out when the roads are blocked.”

By 5:30 pm, police intervened and cleared the protesters from Shastri Road.