As monsoon showers returned to Pune, a worsening road crisis has emerged across Hadapsar, Fursungi, and nearby areas including Bhekrai Nagar and Solapur Road.
The rain-exposed deterioration of roads—already weakened by years of poor maintenance—has created a dense network of potholes, triggering an alarming rise in vehicular accidents. Despite repeated appeals from residents, the civic response has largely remained superficial, with only patchwork being carried out. The city’s ageing road infrastructure and delayed maintenance now stand exposed, demanding urgent corrective action and accountability from municipal authorities. A ground assessment of key localities reveals severe infrastructural neglect. Roads in Hadapsar and Fursungi, long overdue for full reconstruction, have suffered accelerated wear due to heavy pre-monsoon and unseasonal rains. Potholes have not only multiplied but have deepened, becoming practically invisible during downpours. This has left two-wheelers especially vulnerable, with daily commuters reporting a spate of falls, skids, and minor collisions. On 27 May alone, three separate accidents were reported in the Tukai Darshan stretch of Hadapsar, with locals citing a broken drainage chamber as the primary cause.
The damage is not limited to small lanes or inner roads. Major stretches such as Saswad Road, Solapur Highway, and the Palkhi route have also seen extensive damage. According to local complaints filed with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), waterlogging has rendered several manhole covers ineffective. Many have caved in or remain submerged, posing both accident and health hazards. As rainfall becomes more erratic due to climate change, such infrastructural vulnerabilities place thousands of daily road users at constant risk. While the PMC had carried out drainage work in some parts of Tukai Darshan about two months ago, the lack of post-project road restoration has resulted in surface collapse and further erosion. Residents allege that roads were dug up and left unlevelled, with shoddy or absent resurfacing. Civic officials acknowledged the issue, with a sub-engineer from the PMC Road Department stating that while patchwork is ongoing, full-scale road reconstruction remains a challenge as the affected villages technically fall under the Municipal Council jurisdiction.
This administrative ambiguity has created a deadlock. Despite being within city limits and connected to Pune’s urban growth trajectory, these villages—now merged under extended municipal boundaries—remain infrastructurally stranded. Officials confirmed that proposals for new roads were forwarded to the state government but were deferred, citing jurisdictional limitations. In the interim, only basic maintenance is permitted, which, residents argue, is inadequate in the face of structural decay and increasing vehicular density. Local voices are growing louder for a transparent and time-bound resolution. A formal complaint submitted to PMC not only highlights the structural risks but also raises the issue of civic accountability. Citizens have called for an independent audit of road contractors, junior engineers, and supervising officials responsible for project oversight. In the interest of transparency, there is growing demand for the names and contact details of engineers and contractors to be made public at all work sites, enabling quicker grievance redressal.
Another critical aspect flagged by citizens is traffic mismanagement. The deteriorated road conditions are being compounded by unauthorised hoardings, haphazard bus parking, and the rampant encroachment of footpaths. These not only reduce the available road space but also obstruct visibility and safe vehicle navigation. Civic planners and traffic police, residents say, must work in tandem to redesign traffic flows, remove visual clutter, and ensure that high-risk areas are made safer before the monsoon intensifies. Experts in urban mobility and infrastructure stress that patchwork repairs are no longer sustainable for cities like Pune. As urbanisation pushes civic bodies to expand their service areas, the quality of foundational infrastructure—roads, drainage, public transport—must be elevated. Merely reactive responses such as pothole filling and ad hoc drainage repair will not suffice in the face of worsening climate patterns. Instead, comprehensive climate-resilient infrastructure planning is needed, especially in peri-urban pockets that now function as de facto city zones.
Moreover, integrating sustainable materials and smart engineering practices can ensure roads are not only long-lasting but also environmentally friendly. Use of cold mix asphalt, better slope grading for drainage, and digitally monitored construction timelines are practices already deployed in cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and can be replicated in Pune. As the situation stands, the burden continues to fall on residents. Beyond the cost of repairs and injuries, the psychological toll of unsafe roads—constant alertness while commuting, delay anxiety, and road rage—is impacting quality of life. Unless civic agencies act with urgency and coordination, Pune risks losing its image as a city of innovation and liveability.
For now, what the people of Hadapsar, Fursungi, and Bhekrai Nagar demand is not just a better ride, but a safer, more accountable civic system.
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