Heavy rain chokes Pune: City reels under 12-hour downpour; flooded roads, clogged drains, traffic jams everywhere | Pune News

PUNE: Incessant rain over the last 12 hours led to heavy traffic jams in the city on Tuesday due to waterlogging, slow-moving traffic, and potholes. Kilometer-long vehicle queues were reported on Nagar Road, Sinhgad Road, Kesanand-Wagholi stretch, Hadapsar, Canal Road, SPPU Chowk, and Laxmi Road, among others.Commissioner of Pune City Police Amitesh Kumar issued an advisory asking citizens to prioritise safety. “Heavy rainfall continues unabated in the city. Waterlogging is reported in many areas. Avoid stepping out of the house unless absolutely necessary. In case of any emergency, immediately contact the helpline number 112,” the advisory stated.The official X handle of Pune City Traffic Police also posted that, “Due to heavy rain in Pune city since morning, traffic is moving slowly through major intersections. Everyone, take care while leaving home.”Many people took to social media and tagged the traffic police highlighting traffic issues in their areas. Deepanshu Gupta, a resident, posted about the waterlogging and heavy traffic on the Wagholi-Kesanand stretch and said, “Can you please repair the potholes on Wagholi-Kesanand Road which are causing a slowdown in traffic movement? This is the main road for people coming from Kesnand.”Pavanjit Mane, President of the IT employees’ union, talked about the waterlogging and traffic issues in the Hinjewadi area and said, “We have written to the divisional commissioner, who is the single point of contact for Hinjewadi area, to declare work-from-home for IT employees in this rain.”Heavy waterlogging was reported in areas near Pune Station, Hinjewadi, Dhayari, Kharadi, Mundwa, etc., further aggravating the traffic.Traffic police also posted about waterlogging at various places in the city. “At Sayyad Nagar Railway Gate, water has accumulated on the road due to a clogged chamber.Work is underway to clear the chamber on the other side and drain the water. Due to waterlogging at Pune Station Chowk, traffic towards Alankar Chowk is moving slowly,” said the post.The roads leading towards industrial belts also witnessed heavy traffic jams.Industrialist Sudhir Mehta posted on X about the bottleneck in Chakan area.He said “It’s faster and more painless to have a tooth-extraction than travel from Pune to Chakan or Ranjangoan. There is no drainage, garbage lines on the streets and a continuous battle for supremacy on potholes with some tar sections masquerading as roads for embellishment.”