Pune pothole issue: Potholes cover 5-km stretch on Solapur highway; keep commuters in distress

Pune: For commuters, the stretch of road between Magarpatta Chowk and Chandannagar bypass, starting from the Solapur highway, is a nightmare for travel.

Former NCP councillor from the area Bandu Gaikwad said, “The road from Mundhwa bridge to Chandannagar is narrow. We have written to the civic body several times to start the land acquisition process. However, it is yet to do so.”

Along with long traffic lines, those who work in IT firms in Kharadi and Magarpatta must endure jarring drives over potholes every day. The city body has been unable to obtain the necessary land despite repeated requests to enlarge the route.

A civic official said, “The road between Magarpatta Chowk to Mundhwa bridge is 36 metres in width. Towards Chandannagar side, the road narrows down to 24 metres. As there is private property on both sides of the road and the civic body has been unable to acquire the land. There are no storm water lines. So, craters are there all along the road.”

It is the sole route that connects Hadapsar, Magarpatta, or Amanora with Keshavnagar, Nagar Road, Chandannagar, the airport, or even Yerwada. PMC commissioner Vikram Kumar said, “The PMC is in the process of widening the road by removing the encroachment and laying down storm water drainpipes. Most of the land we need for road widening and for civic works has been encroached upon. We are in process of removing the encroachment.”