Pune: Potholes and defunct lights have made travel on Prince of Wales Drive Road, and other interior roads in the Cantonment area, risky, especially in the evening. Commuters said most streetlights on the road do not work, while the few that do provide improper lighting. Preeti Shanbaug, who travels on the road daily on her scooter, said, “Every evening, when I am returning from my office, I find it extremely dangerous to ride on that stretch. The condition of the road is very bad, plus the lights are either dim or do not work. I have to constantly strain my eyes and look for potholes and uneven roads. I fear that I may slip while trying to dodge a pothole.” Rajeev Raut, a commuter, said, “This road is always a problem throughout the year but its condition worsens after rain. Loose gravels on the road make travel risky. The road is uneven, and streetlights do not work on the stretch between Empress Garden and National War Memorial. Lack of visibility could cause a major accident any day.” Meanwhile, the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB), which manages roads in Cantonment areas, blamed the Public Works Department (PWD) for defunct streetlights. Vijay Chavan, an engineer at PCB’s electrical department, said, “The stretch between Empress Garden and Bhairoba Nala Chowk has been undertaken for widening by PWD due to which cables of existing poles might have been damaged. The new poles will come up once the widening work is over. The existing cables have either been damaged or the supply has been reduced to a single phase. We will try to resume supply using overhead wires for now. PWD started work in April, but it was stopped owing to the monsoon, and now it will start after Sept.” “As far as the remaining stretch is concerned, overgrown tree canopies overshadow the poles and block the lights. We will trim the trees post-monsoon. We are also thinking of reducing the height of current poles, which is nine metres. This will ensure that the trees do not block the lights. We will make a budgetary provision regarding the same soon.”
