Five days into monsoon, Pune sees potholes, waterlogging on streets

Only four days of rains in the city have exposed potholes on roads recently tarred by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) as part of monsoon preparedness works. The bad stretches have revealed the shoddy work done by contractors appointed by the civic administration.

One such road is in front of Anna Bhau Sathe Auditorium at Padmavati. Tarred in second week of June, the stretch has thrown multiple potholes, causing inconvenience to commuters passing through the busy Satara Road.

Similarly, on Sinhagad Road too, there have been complaints of waterlogging and potholes despite repairs done earlier this summer. At many other stretches across the city, there have been complaints of waterlogging as rainwater is not getting drained due to uneven slope of roads, residents said.

The civic body carried out road resurfacing and repairs missing its deadlines and due to late arrival of monsoon.

When the Ambil Odha was flooded during the 2019 flash floods, Padmavati Chowk was one of the worst affected areas. Since then, even a few spells of rain cause waterlogging in the locality, according to residents.

Resident Anil Vaidya of Gururaj Society said, “The PMC road department had carried out resurfacing work at the chowk last week. We were doubtful about the delayed work of PMC and our concerns turned true. After a few showers, potholes have developed on this newly surfaced stretch. It is obvious that if the tar material do not get time to dry and rains happen, it would not remain as it is.”

Civic officials said that the helpline set up by PMC in May to report complaints about potholes has received no complaints yet.

VG Kulkarni, head, PMC road department, said, “We carried out road resurfacing works till the rainy season arrived. To get relief for citizens during the rainy season, the civic body tried to resurface maximum roads. PMC has appointed contractors who will fill potholes during the monsoon season.”

Another citizen Ravindra Deshpande said, “PMC had carried out road resurfacing works between the stretch connecting Yashwantrao Chavan Arch and Taljai Slum. The contractor did not do repairs during the sunny days of May, but only when rains started. Still, half the lane remains to be repaired and it has became muddy.” At another stretch in Padmawati near Yashwantrao Chavan Arc, the civic body laid tar to resurface the road just when monsoon started. As the tar did not get time to dry, the road has started showing potholes.

Salisbury Park resident Satish Doshi said, “The work of road in front of Maharashinagar Post Office started and then got delayed. Now, one lane is closed for traffic. Even during the monsoon, PMC did not complete the stretch.”