Kalyani Nagar, Pune’s upscale residential and commercial pocket, has unexpectedly emerged as a flashpoint for civic failure as waterlogging near its newly built metro station has turned daily commutes into dangerous obstacle courses, pushing pedestrians to wade through traffic-heavy roads amidst monsoon showers.
The Kalyani Nagar Metro Station, part of Pune Metro Line 2, has drawn sharp criticism from residents and commuters alike, who say the lack of proper drainage infrastructure around the station is endangering lives. Pedestrians, including schoolchildren and senior citizens, are often forced to walk on the main carriageway during rains due to knee-deep water clogging footpaths and feeder roads. With heavy vehicles zooming past, the situation has raised fears of fatal accidents. Despite prior warnings and procedural communications between the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune Metro authorities, the situation remains unresolved. Officials from both sides have engaged in a blame game, deflecting responsibility while the risk to public safety continues to mount.
At the heart of the issue lies a long-standing drainage challenge. PMC’s road department had earlier recommended carving small stormwater channels at regular intervals in the road medians, particularly under the elevated sections of the metro. These channels would help redirect rainwater to existing storm drains and prevent surface pooling. However, these openings remain missing or insufficient near the metro station, resulting in localised flooding every time it rains. According to residents, the lack of proper slope gradients and clogged sewer lines have worsened the condition. Several complain that the drains around Nagarwala School Junction, in particular, are perpetually choked. In the absence of working drainage, rainwater collects along the roadsides, creating stagnant pools that not only hinder mobility but also pose severe health threats due to mosquito breeding and the risk of vector-borne diseases.
Speaking to local media, a civic activist noted that civic complaints have been consistently filed with both PMC and the metro agency over the past year. Despite these efforts, little to no on-ground improvement has been observed. Teams from citizen-led monitoring groups like TeamSwachh have repeatedly flagged infrastructure lapses like potholes, broken kerbs, and inconsistent elevation that further trap water. Ironically, Kalyani Nagar is often cited as one of Pune’s more premium neighbourhoods, home to gated communities, global IT firms, and designer institutes. The waterlogging near the metro station—intended to improve sustainable urban mobility—is not only undermining that vision but also calls into question the adequacy of planning and coordination between urban agencies.
A design student who regularly uses the metro pointed out that the flooding has turned an otherwise smooth public transport journey into an unsafe and unpredictable experience. “Even posh areas aren’t spared. We had to walk through a road filled with moving traffic on Saturday due to flooding at the station entrance,” she said. On the institutional side, a senior official from PMC’s Drainage Department confirmed that instructions had been shared with the metro agency to clear construction debris and implement drainage mechanisms prior to the monsoon. “We have actively communicated with the metro authorities. They were supposed to ensure the road gradient and construction waste did not interfere with existing drainage. If complaints persist, ward-level officers will conduct inspections and rectify issues.”
However, the metro spokesperson offered a different view, claiming, “Drainage management is the responsibility of the civic body. Our construction work has not disrupted any stormwater lines. Moreover, we never received specific instructions from PMC regarding drainage adaptations under the corridor.” This stark contradiction in narratives has done little to reassure residents. What is evident is that the lack of alignment between agencies has led to an incomplete infrastructure handover. Experts argue that this fragmentation between planning and implementation is a common failure in India’s smart city and metro integration efforts.
Urban development specialists suggest that cities like Pune, which are rapidly adding layers of new infrastructure—such as metro systems, expressways, and pedestrian zones—must prioritise integrated utility planning. “Stormwater, metro construction, and road engineering must be designed and executed in tandem. Otherwise, you have these ‘bottlenecks of modernity’—where infrastructure meant to ease urban life ends up choking it,” an urban planner said. From a sustainability perspective, the incident also highlights the broader challenge of building climate-resilient infrastructure. As Indian cities face increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns due to climate change, traditional drainage solutions may no longer suffice. Civic agencies must not only upgrade existing networks but also embed rainwater harvesting, permeable pavements, and green landscaping into public transit designs.
This metro-linked flooding episode is a cautionary tale: urban infrastructure cannot function in silos. Metro stations are not standalone assets; they are part of a larger urban ecosystem that requires coordination, foresight, and citizen engagement. Unless authorities collaborate meaningfully, the vision of clean, safe, and sustainable cities will remain mired—quite literally—in stagnant pools of rainwater.
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