Pune traffic restrictions will be in force on Sunday and Monday as security arrangements are put in place for Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit, with parking bans and road closures affecting several major corridors across the city. Pune District Youth Congress president Umesh Pawar was also taken into custody from his residence ahead of the visit, according to the report published by Pudhari.
Pawar claimed that police action was linked to the possibility of a protest during Shah’s Pune tour. He criticised the detention and said his organisation’s campaign to protect democracy and the Constitution would continue. The report did not include a police response to Pawar’s claim.
The traffic restrictions will cover routes connecting the Air Force station in Lohegaon with Viman Nagar, Ramwadi and the Bharat Forge facility in Mundhwa. Parking will be prohibited on these roads on November 15 and 16, according to Pune traffic police deputy commissioner Dr Sandeep Bhajibhakare. The restrictions are intended to support security and traffic management during the minister’s programmes.
Several central Pune roads will also be affected. The parking ban includes North Main Road in Koregaon Park, Jehangir Hospital Chowk, Engineering College Chowk, Nehru Memorial Chowk, Jangli Maharaj Road, Tilak Chowk, Tilak Road, Fergusson Road, Vedshala Chowk, Sancheti Chowk, Patil Estate, the Sangamwadi-to-Shadalbaba Chowk route in Yerawada, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Chowk to Golf Club Road, and the route from 509 Chowk to the Air Force station in Lohegaon.
Shah is scheduled to attend a programme at the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal in Sadashiv Peth on Monday. From 9 am until the programme concludes, parking will be prohibited on Tilak Road, near Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Badshahi Hotel, the route from Perugate Police Chowky to Pavan Maruti Temple, and around Bharat Natya Mandir.
Traffic movement will also be stopped from 7 am on Monday between Kirad Chowk and Nehru Memorial Hall Chowk. Vehicles using the route have been advised to travel from Kirad Chowk via the General Post Office to Hotel Blue Nile Chowk before proceeding to their destinations. The road from Dorabjee Mall to Hotel Blue Nile Chowk near the Pune Zilla Parishad premises will also remain closed during a programme at the district council.
Traffic police have advised motorists to use designated parking locations, including SGS Mall, Poona Club, Ladies Club, Kirad Chowk, lanes near the Pune Police Commissionerate, ISKCON Temple and Blue Nile Chowk. The restrictions are scheduled to remain in place during the stated programmes on November 15 and 16.
