Large Ganesh festival pandals set up across central Pune are heavily encroaching on road space, disrupting traffic flow, and raising serious safety concerns among local residents. The installations have significantly narrowed major carriageways, triggering widespread congestion during peak hours across busy neighborhoods.
Key locations where pandals have severely restricted road width include the Babu Genu Ganpati mandal in the Mandai area, Natubaug on Bajirao Road, Bhikardas Maruti, and the Pune Vidyarthi Griha road in Sadashiv Peth. Local residents emphasize that these connecting routes are crucial for daily commuters and express deep worry over delayed emergency responses. With massive crowds anticipated, narrowed lanes could severely impede ambulances and fire engines navigating these densely populated areas.
Commuters and residents have urged authorities to strictly enforce spatial limits. They noted that even minor influxes of traffic now cause massive bottlenecks, calling on municipal authorities to inspect defaulting mandals and clear unauthorized encroachments.
In response, Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram stated that the civic administration is coordinating closely with the police and festival organizers to ensure smooth celebrations. Authorities reiterated their appeal to all mandals to adhere strictly to their permitted boundaries and leave sufficient space for daily traffic and emergency vehicles throughout the festival season.
-
-
-
-
