Rainwater leakage at Maan station on Pune Metro Line 3 has raised construction-quality and preparedness concerns just days before the corridor is scheduled to be inaugurated and opened to passengers, although the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has attributed the incident to a blocked drainage pipe and described it as isolated.
The leakage followed heavy showers on Sunday at the station serving the Maan area of Hinjewadi. PMRDA officials inspected the terrace slabs, joints, drainage outlets and waterproofing arrangements at all 17 stations planned for the first phase of operations after the incident.
A senior PMRDA official said there had been no report of water leakage at any other station. Officials said rainwater accumulated on Maan station’s open-to-sky terrace slab after a rainwater drainage pipe became choked. The water then overflowed and seeped through a gap between the station box and the entry structure, becoming visible on the mezzanine level.
The blockage has since been cleared, and PMRDA officials said the drainage system is functioning normally. The authority’s inspection came before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled inauguration of the corridor on Tuesday and the planned opening of 17 stations to the public on Wednesday.
The 23.2-kilometre elevated corridor will connect Maan in Hinjewadi with Shivajinagar and has 23 stations in total. The first phase will cover 17 stations. The route is expected to serve the Hinjewadi information-technology hub and residential areas along the corridor, making the condition of station structures and access facilities relevant to daily commuters.
The incident nevertheless prompted questions from residents and technology-sector employees about whether the corridor had undergone sufficient checks before being declared ready for passenger operations. Gokul Ojha, a resident of Hinjewadi Maan, said concerns about construction quality and execution had persisted during the three- to four-year construction period. He called for an independent third-party quality and safety audit of Maan station and, if necessary, the entire corridor.
Ojha also referred to the February 14 incident in Mumbai, where a concrete parapet segment from the under-construction Metro Line 4 viaduct in Mulund fell on an autorickshaw and a car on LBS Road, killing one person and injuring three. He said any review of the Pune corridor should focus on infrastructure safety and quality standards rather than political blame.
Sachin Londhe, president of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Cooperative Housing Societies Federation Limited, said the infrastructure should have been fully rainproof. PMRDA’s account, however, identifies the immediate cause as drainage blockage and says the water ingress was traced to the open-to-sky terrace and a gap near the entry structure.
PMRDA’s inspection of the 17 stations and its confirmation that the blocked pipe has been cleared are the authority’s stated steps before the corridor’s scheduled inauguration and public opening.
