Patil asks police, PMC to depute 600 wardens for managing traffic

PUNE Pune district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil on Friday reviewed various projects undertaken by Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and asked police and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to provide 600 wardens to manage traffic at different locations.

Pune has been facing severe traffic jams for the past few days with residents and various political parties criticising police and civic body for failure to manage the chaos.

The police chief Amitabh Gupta has in the past said traffic mess is mainly because of various infrastructure projects including work of Pune Metro undertaken in various parts of the city.

“Until various projects are completed, there will be some inconvenience. PMC and Pune police plan to have 600 wardens, in every chowk and signal to man the traffic, along with efficient officers. I have recommended that if needed to take the help of home guard or even the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU)National Cadet Corps (NCC) students,” said Patil after taking a review of PMRDA and discussed the ongoing projects and how it could work faster without hampering commuters’ movement.

This is with regards to the ongoing work of Metro that has become a bone of contention for many residents living in Baner, Balewadi, Aundh and Pashan and for commuters coming into the city from Hinjewadi, Sangvi and other parts of Pimpri Chinchwad, Patil has requested Pune police commissioner to deploy 600 private wardens to help expedite the Metro work and help in managing traffic without causing inconvenience to the residents.

Vivek Kharvadkar, chief engineer of PMRDA, said, “Patil was keen on knowing the status of the Metro work and the university chowk flyover and requested to fast track the project by informing us to work in sync with the PMC and Pune police with regards to the traffic situation.”

“We have scheduled a meeting with Patil regarding the University flyover and the Metro in the first week after Diwali,” he added.