Residents demand action against unauthorised bus parking on Satara Road

PUNE: Residents have demanded action against unauthorised parking and halting of private/luxury buses on Satara Road which is causing traffic chaos both in the morning and evening hours daily. Satara Road is among the busiest roads in Pune and buses parked on the road leads to traffic congestion. When a Hindustan Times reporter visited Satara Road on Sunday, most buses were found parked properly on the allotted ground while a few buses were found parked on Satara Road.

Vijay Kumar Magar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said, “We are going to impose heavy fines on drivers who park buses on roads. This is a problem not only on Satara Road but many other roads in the city. Strict action will be taken against these drivers.”

Private buses headed to places as far as Nagpur, Yavatmal, Nanded, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Surat are scheduled from Pune daily and they have various pickup points across the city. When these buses halt, they cause inconvenience to the commuters and contribute to traffic chaos on city roads.

Pankaj Raut, a Katraj resident, said, “If the bus is standing in front of you, it becomes very important that you slow down and overtake the vehicle else there are chances of accidents.”

Tuli Singh, a truck driver, said, “Satara Road is a very crowded place; these drivers should park their buses on roads that do not have a traffic burden. Here, the road is already packed with traffic and these drivers park their vehicles on the same road. The traffic police should take action against them.”

Shabaz Hemdani, an engineering student from JSPM, Katraj, said, “Both during the morning and evening, students face traffic jams on these roads due to the buses parked. If the road is not blocked by traffic, I reach my destination in 20 minutes whereas due to traffic, it takes 40 minutes and sometimes even an hour if there is a lot of traffic.”

Whereas private bus owner, Suhas Singh, who parks buses on the allotted ground, said, “I have four buses and all my buses are parked in the open plot near Satara Road where a majority of bus owners park their buses. Only a few new drivers park their buses on the road.”