Mohammadwadi-NIBM link road closure leads to chaos on alternate roads
The PMC had closed the main Mohammadwadi-NIBM link road for slope reduction work which has been pending for the past ten years
The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) decision to divert the NIBM to Mohammadwadi vehicular traffic via two alternate roads has backfired, as massive traffic congestion was reported on the alternate roads which are in bad condition for the past five years.
The PMC had closed the main Mohammadwadi-NIBM link road for slope reduction work which has been pending for the past ten years. On Monday, traffic was thrown out of gear with both the alternate roads getting clogged for over an hour. Due to huge potholes on the roads, it became difficult for the commuters to navigate vehicles. Currently, residents of Mohammadwadi have to take a detour of five kms to reach NIBM after the slope area was closed for vehicular traffic.
Residents took to twitter and online group posting condemning PMC for failing to carry out road repair work of Mohammadwadi-Undri and Deosthan road that connects to NIBM for the past five years.
According to PMC road development sub-engineer, Avinash Kamthe, the civic body will try to complete slope reduction work by April end. “We are making both the alternate roads motorable for the commuters. At the same time, we have planned to complete at least one side of the slope work by April end,” he said.
The PMC roads department is spending ₹3 crore to reduce the slope from 10 feet to 3 feet and reconstruct it to a width of 24 metres. The slope that leads to Cloud 9 society is the only connecting road to the opulent Mohammadwadi area, which has become a major traffic bottleneck.
Saniya Shaikh, a resident of Ganga Florentina in Mohammadwadi said, “There is too much traffic on the alternate roads to NIBM which have not been repaired for the past five years. No proper planning was done by the PMC before digging the slope. The slope work too is moving at a snail’s pace and it will be a very painful experience during summer and monsoon. The PMC must complete the digging work at the slope within one month and employ double the machinery and labour to ensure that the work does not drag for months together.”
Daljeet Goraya, director, NIBM Annexe Residents Forum said, “In the past two months, the slope reduction work has considerably slowed down. Now, the PMC has closed the slope road for traffic and diverted vehicular traffic to two alternate roads, both of which are in extremely bad condition and not fit for commuting. PMC road department has been very unprofessional in its conduct in Mohammadwadi and citizens’ lives are in danger due to the inept and inefficient functioning of the PMC administration.”
Former Corporator Nanda Lonkar when contacted said, “I have met the PMC commissioner and told him clearly that we need at least one side of the slope road functioning as the entire traffic scenario in the area is chaotic. The PMC road department will be filling the potholes on the alternate roads to smoothen the road condition for the commuters.”
