Pune traffic police will close 18 major roads and introduce a circular diversion plan across the city on Friday, 25 September, to manage crowds during the Ganesh immersion procession. The restrictions will remain in force until the immersion arrangements are concluded, with police asking residents to use the designated alternative route.
Large numbers of devotees are expected to gather in central Pune for the procession. To keep the movement of the procession and emergency traffic orderly, an independent traffic police deployment has been planned under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic Branch, Dr Sandeep Bhajibhakare.
The closures include Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Road between Kakasaheb Gadgil Statue Junction and Jedhe Chowk; Laxmi Road between Sant Kabir Chowky and Tilak Chowk, near Alka cinema; Bagade Road between Sonya Maruti Chowk and Phadke Houd Chowk; and Gurunanak Road between Devjibaba Chowk, Hamzekhan Chowk and Govind Halwai Chowk.
Ganesh Road will be closed between Daruwala Bridge and Jijamata Chowk, while Kelkar Road will be restricted between Budhwar Chowk and Tilak Chowk. Restrictions will also apply on Bajirao Road between the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Statue and Futka Buruj Chowk, Kumthekar Road between Tilak Chowk and Vishrambaug Chowk, and Lal Bahadur Shastri Road between Senadatta Chowky Chowk and Tilak Chowk.
Other affected stretches are Jungli Maharaj Road between Jhansi Rani Chowk and Khandoji Baba Chowk; Karve Road between Nal Stop Chowk and Khandoji Baba Chowk; Namdar Gopal Krishna Gokhale Road between Khandoji Baba Chowk and the main entrance of Fergusson College; and Bhandarkar Road between the PYCC Gymkhana and Gokhale Chowk and Deccan Gymkhana Chowk, also known as Nataraj Chowk.
The restrictions extend to Pune-Satara Road between Volga Chowk, also known as Laxminarayan Chowk, and Jedhe Chowk; Solapur Road between Dhole Patil Road’s Seven Loves Chowk and Jedhe Chowk; and Prabhat Road between the Deccan post office and Shelarmama Chowk.
For vehicles affected by the closures, traffic police have prepared a circular alternative route. The route begins at Karve Road and Nal Stop, continues through Law College Road, Senapati Bapat Road, Ganeshkhind Road, Observatory Chowk, Sancheti Hospital, Engineering College, Dr Ambedkar Road’s Shahir Amar Shaikh Chowk, Maldhakka Chowk, Bolhai Chowk, Narpatgiri Chowk and Nehru Road’s Sant Kabir Chowky.
It then proceeds through Seven Loves Chowk, the Warehousing Corporation Chowk, Shivneri Road towards Gultekdi Market Yard, Pune-Satara Road to Volga Chowk, Sinhagad Road to Mitramandal Chowk, Savarkar Chowk, Shastri Road to Senadatta Police Chowky, Anant Kanhere Path, Mhatre Bridge and back to Nal Stop. Residents have been asked to plan journeys around the restrictions and follow directions issued by traffic personnel during the procession.
