Pune: Fatal Accident in Punawale Sparks Demands for Urgent Road Safety Measures in Pimpri-Chinchwad
Punawale, 31st July 2025: A fatal accident near Pharande’s Puneville Housing Society in Punawale has intensified public outrage over deteriorating road conditions and unchecked traffic hazards in the area. The incident, which claimed the life of a woman, prompted an emergency inspection by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap, senior Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) officials, traffic police, and local residents.
During the site visit, attention was focused on implementing a comprehensive set of corrective measures. These include urgent road repairs, installation of speed breakers, a daytime ban on heavy vehicle entry into residential zones, proper barricading of construction areas, and stricter penalties for illegal water discharge onto roads. Authorities also pledged to deploy additional traffic personnel, fill potholes, install traffic signals at key junctions, and expedite work on the long-pending underpass and Development Plan (DP) roads.
MLA Jagtap emphasized that residents deserve high-quality infrastructure in return for their tax contributions and assured that all critical infrastructure projects would be prioritized and executed promptly.
The inspection was attended by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vivek Patil, Senior Police Inspector of Wakad Traffic Division Sunil Pinjan, PCMC engineers Sunil Shinde and Suryawanshi, as well as community leaders including Chetan Bhujbal, Jagdish Shetty, and Suresh Ranavade, along with representatives from Puneville and nearby housing societies.
Meanwhile, growing resentment was voiced by the Punawale Pimpri Chinchwad Residents Forum, which expressed outrage over repeated negligence. In a social media post, the forum stated: “Another precious life lost in Punawale due to continued neglect by authorities. Despite repeated warnings, heavy vehicles still storm through residential lanes. How many more lives must be lost before action is taken?”
In response, forum members Sumit Dhage and Rahul Kate visited the PCMC office and met with the key officials, urging immediate action, including installing speed breakers at the accident site and enforcing the heavy vehicle restrictions during daytime.
Sumit Dhage of the Punawale Residents Forum said, “This tragic accident has shaken the entire neighborhood. It could have been easily avoided if the PCMC had acted earlier on repeated demands to restrict heavy vehicle movement during daytime in residential areas. The poor road conditions only added to the severity.”
With the active involvement of MLA Shankar Jagtap, residents are hopeful that long-overdue safety measures will now be expedited to prevent further tragedies.
