Pune: Imagine the fear of being run over by a vehicle propelling you to pay an autorickshaw just to cross a road — the daily reality for hundreds of domestic helpers, who cross the busy Ganeshkhind Road to get to work in Bhosalenagar.This unfortunate necessity also turned fatal for a woman on Nov 21 this year, when 42-year-old domestic help Sunita Santosh Alkunte was hit by a speeding two-wheeler, along with a friend, while crossing the same road. Days later, she succumbed to her injuries. The deceased’s sister Vaishali Korade, who has also been working in the area as a domestic help for over a decade, told TOI, “After the accident, my sister was rushed to the hospital. Doctors only said she had fractured her hand and leg. They bandaged her and sent her home. A few days later, she started to run a fever and was vomiting profusely. We admitted her again, but she died a few hours later. We suspect she hit head or was internally injured during the fall, but no one checked. Now, my sister is no more.” Alkunte had no other illness. She is survived by her husband, a painter by profession, and their two sons aged 25 and 23 years. “We have submitted an application at the police station but are awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain cause of death. She was fine before the accident. If only there was a decent way to cross this road or vehicle drivers slowed down or stopped for pedestrians, my sister would still be alive. This was not the first accident we have seen, but she is the first to lose her life,” said Korade, almost in tears. Few facilities and vehicles don’t slow down Pedestrians continue to be the most ignored demographic on the arterial thoroughfare of University Road. While major infrastructure works are being executed on this stretch since long for vehicular traffic — and were recently expedited ahead of upcoming civic polls — pedestrian facilities like footpaths and crossings are still few and far between. Ganeshkhind Road is not the sole example. Crores of rupees were spent to revamp Chandni Chowk as well, but a simple foot overbridge remained an afterthought. Nagar Road was more recently turned into a signal-free stretch to move traffic along, but pedestrians are still struggling to find their way through zipping vehicles. While infrastructure for vehicles has helped traffic speed up on Ganeshkhind Road, allied amenities for pedestrians have been ignored. “Before the Aundh to Shivajinagar flyover started, all vehicles were using the at-grade road and so, were slow-moving. Once the flyover was inaugurated, fewer vehicles use the road below and everyone speeds,” said another house help in Kasturkunj society, Sangeeta Dongre, adding, “All of us stay in and around Ganeshkhind, so we walk to work. Even though footpaths are an issue throughout the stretch, crossing from one side to the other is what scares us the most.” “Initially, there were traffic wardens at the U-turn from where we cross. Now, they are mostly not there. Even if present, they are busy looking at their phones. Many vehicles, especially two-wheelers, ply on the wrong side to take a short cut. Where do we look while crossing? So many of us were injured in the last month, and we even lost one of our own. What will it take for the authorities to pay heed to our demands?” added Dongre. Another house help working in the same society, Lakshmi Dhotre, said, “Sometimes, we wait for 10 minutes just to cross. Not a single vehicle slows down. Some even speed up when we start crossing. Many of us have fallen while trying to run across and been injured grievously, too. Crossing this stretch has become extremely scary.” Residents escalate the issue to authorities When fear took over all other emotions, the domestic helpers approached their employers, hoping to escalate the matter for a solution. On behalf of the ICS Bhosale Nagar Mohalla Committee, a letter has been drafted to send to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, road department chief engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar and DCP (traffic) Himmat Jadhav. The missive makes demands for a road safety audit at the Nov 21 accident location and adjacent segments, safe crossing measures including raised pedestrian crossings, median refuges, well-marked zebra crossings and improved lighting at all crossing points. It also pushes for a raised pedestrian crossing near the Ma Anandmayee Ashram, where residents, including many domestic helpers and senior citizens, frequently cross. Sharmila Nayak, a Kasturkunj society member, said, “We also need some interim traffic-calming measures, such as rumble strips, optical speed bars and clear speed-limit signage, visible enforcement, including speed monitoring and challans during peak hours, wider, continuous and obstruction-free footpaths that are in line with IRC 103-2012 guidelines, ensuring a clear walking width of at least 3m and clearing of existing footpath obstacles so that pedestrians are not forced into traffic.” The letter further demands a joint site visit by PMC and Pune traffic police along with representatives from the mohalla committee to finalise timelines for the required steps. Bhosalenagar resident Hema Chari said, “Ganeshkhind Road has become dangerous. Forget children, even adults hesitate to drive here amid the speed and chaos. This is no longer just a local traffic issue but a question of social justice. The people most affected are those with the least choice — domestic workers, daily commuters and senior citizens. For years, residents have been writing to the authorities about broken footpaths, unsafe crossings and poor road design on the road, which connects Baner, Aundh, Pashan and Bavdhan. But despite repeated complaints, the problem has not been taken seriously.” Chari, also a core-member of Warrior Moms, a national group working on increasing awareness around air pollution, added, “When basic safety infrastructure is ignored and a life is lost, accountability cannot be shifted to pedestrians. How many more such incidents will it take before road safety on this stretch is treated as an urgent priority?” Another mohalla committee member, Smita Kulkarni, told TOI that the vehicles on this stretch have become faster after Metro work barricades were shifted inwards after completion of some work, increasing road width. “I have lived in Bhosalenagar for years and walking to the market in Model Colony was routine for many of us. Now, no one dares to navigate this stretch unless they are in a vehicle. Walking is out of question as there are no footpaths and crossing has become a pain. It is saddening that pedestrians are the last on every priority list,” she said. Mindset and design both lacking, on-foot demographic ‘an afterthought’ The perception of a good road in Pune is one that has the maximum surface area for vehicles. But pedestrians need to be thought of in the planning stage itself, be it for at-grade stretches, underpasses or foot overbridges. It is only when the infrastructure is built and more importantly maintained over a period of time that people will use it. A pedestrian-inclusive approach is not difficult to implement, but unfortunately the will to do so is missing. There is some aversion to slowing down vehicles or breaking their speed. There is a gap in education as well, wherein students aren’t necessarily taught to ensure that pedestrians are included in the planning and implementation stages. This gap must be filled. It is often forgotten that the people who drive vehicles are actually pedestrians riding or driving. Many cities worldwide are switching to a pedestrian-friendly approach as they have realised that this is the sustainable way of development— Vikrant Shinde | Urban designer Authorities don’t consider pedestrians as legitimate road users. They are always an afterthought. Look at the Chandni Chowk project. Crores of rupees were spent on it, but the FOB work is still under way months later. Pedestrians are considered intruders on the road, not just by authorities, but also by motorists, who honk and get frustrated when someone is crossing, instead of slowing down and giving them way. We have built traffic parks and maybe schoolchildren are even being taught laws, but when they see their parents break the rules, it counters the teachings. More importantly, you tell them to cross at a zebra crossing, but where is the zebra crossing? We need to make all the infrastructure first and then look at strict rule enforcement. Changing mindsets will take time, but systemic changes can be the first step — Prashant Inamdar | Convenor, Pedestrians FIRST Changes only after cycle tour, say officials PMC cannot build any pedestrian infrastructure at the spot until the flyover work is not completed. Ideally, PMRDA should be providing something on a temporary basis. Once the flyover and Metro work is completed and handed over to us, we can look into providing infrastructure for pedestrians. At present, we cannot do anything on the stretch. In addition to this, if PMRDA has to do any temporary arrangement as well, nothing can be done before the Grand Cycle Tour, as speed breakers and rumbler strips across the route have been removed for the convenience for cyclists. So, whatever has to be done can be executed only after the cycle tour— Aniruddha Pawaskar | Chief engineer, road department, PMC There needs to be infrastructure to support pedestrian crossing. Initially, there were complaints about there being a lot of traffic on this road, which has eased after the Aundh bridge started. Ideally, on such a stretch, having an underpass for pedestrians would be best, but that is not possible now. We will look at getting a zebra crossing at the spot and also installing speed breakers or other traffic calming measures. Officers are regularly patrolling the area and making sure that traffic is moving smoothly. Once infrastructure is built, crossing will be easier. However, till the work is completed, we cannot put in rumbler strips or do anything else. There is a pedestrian crossing at SPPU Chowk as of now — Himmat Jadhav | DCP (traffic), Pune I have no idea that accidents are taking place on Ganeshkhind Road. There was no crossing here before either. However, if we have to look into a pedestrian crossing it will have to be done only after all the work is completed. But I will look into the issue — Deepak Singla | Additional commissioner, PMRDA
