Pune: Nagar Road has been gridlocked for the last two days following a traffic diversion introduced to facilitate the construction of a flyover and grade separator at Shastrinagar Chowk near Yerawada.Vehicles have been backed up for at least two to three kms on both sides of the diversion, with even short distances taking a minimum of 20 minutes to cover. The congestion has caused a ripple effect, spilling into neighbouring areas such as Vimannagar, Kalyaninagar and Wadgaon Sheri, as drivers attempt to bypass the bottleneck.One frustrated commuter, Shivani Kapur, said, “I left home 30 minutes early, but got stuck in a jam. Vehicles were crawling bumper-to-bumper and what should have been a five-minute drive felt endless.”Another commuter said, “I should have waited for the traffic to clear before leaving. Opening side roads did little to help.”Ramesh Patole, a resident of Shanti Rakshak, said, “The traffic mess worsens daily — jams everywhere, people behind time and everything delayed. We reach office late and return home even later. On top of that is the frustration of navigating the chaotic traffic.”The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) approved the flyover and grade separator project at Shastrinagar Chowk in Aug 2024, aiming to alleviate severe traffic congestion in Kalyaninagar, Vimannagar, Kharadi and nearby localities. The authorities secured all necessary permissions, including a no-objection certificate from the Archaeological Survey of India, as the site is close to the Aga Khan Palace.However, the diversion intended to ease construction work has instead led to severe congestion. Some commuters have criticised the sudden implementation, citing a lack of phased planning and insufficient alternative routes. Activists also raised concerns about closed medians and unclear provisions for pedestrian safety.Officials acknowledged the situation and said they were working on solutions to ease the traffic. “We are exploring ways to reduce inconvenience, such as banning parking on key stretches, creating U-turns and phasing traffic changes instead of blanket closures,” said DCP (traffic) Himmat Jadhav.The Association of Nagar Road Citizens Forum convenor, Qaneez Sukhrani, wrote to the civic administration, traffic department and other authorities on Sept 16, highlighting poor coordination that has contributed to months of traffic chaos in the area. “It’s a classic case of PMC and police failing to coordinate among themselves and consult taxpayers before deciding on the diversion. This is why we have been demanding an integrated masterplan,” Sukhrani said.The forum also pointed out that traffic police ignored their request for a joint site visit to explain the rationale behind the no-signal U-turn experiment. Vimannagar resident Roshni Tandon said, “The no-signal plan has increased traffic flow and raised safety concerns.”Tandon criticised the plan’s many shortcomings, including inadequate pedestrian crossings, missing speed breakers and rumbler strips and lack of wardens to assist pedestrians. She described the traffic department’s handling as shoddy and mismanaged.MLA Bapu Pathare recently inspected the site and stressed the need for pedestrian safety and better route planning.
