₹200 crore loss to Pune-Bengaluru transporters due to floods in western Maharashtra

Floods battered the Sangli and Kolhapur districts earlier this month after heavy rains lashed regions in western Maharashtra.

The National Highway 4 (NH4) was cut off after the floods and the transportation industry utilising the highway to go to Bengaluru suffered losses of at least ₹200 crore this month. Most of the transport vehicles were damaged in the floods and have been sent for repair. Out of the 8,000 vehicles which ply daily on this route, even 50 per cent of the vehicles have not yet returned to the road.

“Since the floods affected NH4 route, all our transport vehicles - right from small vans to trucks and heavy vehicles - were stopped near Satara by the police. They were stopped for at least seven to eight days till the water receded. Most of our vehicles were damaged as water entered the engines and other mechanical issues came to the fore. During this period, the transportation industry, which utilises NH4 route from Pune to Bengaluru, suffered looses of at least ₹200 crore,” said Baba Shinde, president Maharashtra state goods and passengers’ transport association. 

Water levels had started increasing since the first week of August on NH4 near Peth Naka and hence, the stretch from Satara to Kolhapur was closed down by the highway police for any vehicular movement.

Prashant Somawanshi, owner of the Shivkailas Transports from Hadapsar, said, “We had four trucks carrying factory material going towards Karnataka which were stopped at Satara. Now, after the highway was opened, only two of them could go forward as the other two trucks started facing technical issues. The situation was same for most of the transporters whose vehicles were stuck due to floods.”