Water on roads brings city to a halt, Metro areas hit most

Pune: Over 101mm rainfall over two-three hours on Saturday evening brought the entire city to a grinding halt, with knee-deep water holding up vehicular movement on many roads, especially those around the Metro stretch, exposing civic preparedness ahead of the official monsoon onset in Pune.
The situation in the sky was no different, with at least 20 flights being delayed and air movement staying “shut between 6.15pm and 7pm at the Pune airport”.

Several low-lying areas were inundated, including the vicinity outside Pune railway station and the departure area of Lohegaon Airport. A section of citizens also complained of water seeping into their houses in the slum pockets. In many housing societies, rainwater made way to the floors and elevators.
On Nagar Road, many commuters were stranded for over one-and-a-half hours till 10pm because of the massive traffic jam from Vimannagar to Gunjan chowk and other side of the highway. Residents heading towards the airport were also stuck and many missed their flights.
The stretch along SB Road Pavillion was particularly affected, with the road clogged up to the divider. The route from Karve Road to Garware bridge remained virtually impassable, leaving even cars stranded in the deluge.
Massive traffic jams spanning several kilometres were seen on the Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass starting from Wakad towards Satara. Areas like Yerawada, Vimannagar, Sinhagad Road, Koregaon Park, Mhalunge, Timber Market, Lohegaon, Aundh, Market Yard, Dhanori, Baner Road, JM Road, Ganeshkhind Road, Karve Road, NDA Road, among many others, bore the brunt of the heavy evening showers.
Citizens also reported bikes malfunctioning in heavy waterlogging on Saturday. There were reports of power outages owing to strong winds and rain, with senior citizens stuck inside the elevators in some societies.
Vimannagar resident Pooja Yatnur said, “It was difficult to even walk on the roads with knee-deep water. There were power outages in our area. Rainwater had also entered houses in the low-lying areas and cars narrowly escaped falling trees.”
Baner Pashan Link Road resident Pushkar Kulkarni said, “Every year, PMC puts citizens life at danger by not removing encroachments from the city’s streams, rivulets and rivers. PMC’s road and drainage department and their consultants-contractors are clueless about the basics of road designing for effective storm water drainage.”
Ameya Jagtap from Balewadi said, “The monsoon is yet to arrive and all the roads are under water. At multiple locations in Baner and Balewadi, the cars were almost floating owing to heavy waterlogging. Will PMC, PMRDA and Metro authorities take the blame for any loss of life?”
Airport sources said one of the departure gates was waterlogged resulting in passengers facing additional problems. An Air India Express flight from Bhubaneswar to Pune circled around the Pune airspace for a while before diverting to Mumbai, an airline spokesperson confirmed.
While Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke didn’t respond to calls and messages, sources at the airport said all flight movements were shut between 6.15pm and 7pm because of the water accumulation on the apron.
The fire brigade received calls about tree falling from across the city. Officials said they received over 20 calls for waterlogging from various parts. City fire brigade chief Devendra Potphode said, “No one was injured. Our men are working hard to help the distressed callers.”
Kunal Tilak, who started from his home in Narayan Peth to catch an 11pm IndiGo flight to Delhi, said, “Though I started at 8pm, I was nowhere close to the airport till 9.45pm. Two bikers and an autorickshaw driver helped me reach the airport. Thankfully, my flight was delayed.”
Kalyaninagar resident Anand Bagmar, who was to board a Delhi Indigo flight at midnight, said the heavy traffic on Nagar Road made him cancel his plans.