VIDEOS: Punekars Share Harrowing Ordeal As City Battles Waterlogging, Traffic Chaos, And Power Outages In Heavy Rains
Pune city was lashed by heavy rains on Tuesday, plunging the city into chaos with incidents of waterlogging, power outages, and traffic congestion reported from different parts of the city. Heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds, swept the city, affecting areas including Shivaji Nagar, Baner, Kondhwa, Katraj, and Hadapsar.
Several incidents of waterlogging were reported from the city, with videos circulating on social media about waterlogging at the Pune New Airport Terminal.
Punekars Share Harrowing Ordeal
Chetan Mitkari, a resident of Hadapsar, said that B.G. Shirke Road was completely submerged. "It was astonishing to see that two-wheeler riders were struggling to ride on the submerged road, and there were a couple of incidents of riders falling in the submerged road. The water becomes clogged on the road with one hour of rain, and this issue has been persistent for a very long time."
Appa Patil was on his way to attend the marriage ceremony of his friend at Kondhwa but could not attend it on time due to waterlogging on the road. "The water was up to knee-deep, many women did not come out of the car due to fear of their clothes getting dirty," Patil said.
Saurabh Gharte, a software engineer working at Hinjewadi, said that due to heavy waterlogging at Bhujbal Chowk, he was stuck in traffic for over two and a half hours, which usually takes 15–20 minutes to clear.
"At Radha Chowk, water was gushing out like a stream of a flowing river on the road, clogging the road with water and vehicles stuck from all three sides. There was a power outage from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at his residence," he further added.
Similarly, at Dhayari, DSK Road, and Dhayari Phata, there were waterlogging and traffic issues.
Kajal Bhukan also shared that she could not move because of waterlogging at Nagar-Pune Highway to Panchsheel Chowk.
She said, "It is a single pothole-laden road, and there is frequent movement of heavy vehicles on the road, which often leads to traffic congestion. But with sudden rains, the issues get quadrupled. The shopkeepers also had to face the brunt of incessant rainfall, with a few reporting waterlogging in their shops and losses of tangible goods."
Water in shops
Solapur Bazaar, a bustling market hub at Hadapsar, reported significant disruptions. Ramesh Patil, owner of Patil General Store, a small retail shop, described the ordeal: "The water came gushing into my shop around 3 p.m. yesterday." Goods such as bags of rice, pulses, and sugar were damaged.
Anil Sharma, a shopkeeper at Shivaji Nagar, said that though the rain was not heavy there, traffic jams kept customers away. "We usually see hundreds of customers daily, but yesterday, we had barely 20–30. The waterlogging on nearby roads scared people off, and I’m worried about the next few days if heavy rain continues like this," he further added.
The PMC has the task at hand before the monsoon season arrives.
Jagdish Kanore, an engineer at PMC, said, "The plastic and other waste that is spread on the roads is carried away by the moving water and gets clogged at the mesh of the storm waterline, which creates the problem of waterlogging in many areas."
"Pune has a road network of 2,400 km, in contrast to it, there is only 350 km of storm waterline constructed. As per the rulebook, roads should be accompanied by storm waterlines to prevent water gushing onto the roads. Storm waterlines should be constructed proportionately to km of roads constructed if the issues of waterlogging are to be addressed. Often, contractors build the road but ignore the construction of storm waterlines due to budget constraints," he further added.
He emphasised, "The increased paved areas in the residential parts of the city, which do not allow water to seep into the ground, lead to frequent flooding of the areas. There has been a rise in flash floods in the city, which bring heavy rainfall in a short span of time, making it difficult for the corporation to provide timely services to the residents. The PMC has deployed officials to look at the areas that report frequent incidents of waterlogging and workers to clear the dry and plastic waste from drainage lines for the swift movement of water."
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