Uneven Drainage Chambers Continue to Trouble Pune Drivers Despite PMC Efforts

Pune, 14th January 2025: Drivers in Pune are facing persistent problems due to uneven drainage chamber covers on the roads. These issues range from accidents caused by small and large potholes around the chambers to back and waist pain. To address these, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Road Department initiated a campaign to level the covers of drainage chambers, successfully bringing about 407 chambers on various roads to level.

However, a new challenge has emerged. While re-tarring fifteen major roads, the covers of the chambers on these roads sunk again, causing the chambers to collapse. This situation has highlighted poor planning by the Road Department.

Throughout the city, chamber covers are not at the same level as the road surface. In some locations, chambers have collapsed entirely, while in others, the chamber faces have risen above the road level. Potholes have formed around many chambers due to ongoing work, leading to frequent accidents.

Following a review meeting led by Union Minister of State and Pune MP Muralidhar Mohol, along with Maharashtra’s Higher and Technical Education Minister and Kothrud MLA Chandrakant Patil and other MLAs, instructions were given to resurface 15 major city roads by 30th January. This initiative, known as Mission 15, included encroachment action and pothole repairs.

The PMC’s road department began scraping and re-asphalting these 15 major roads. However, during this process, the chamber covers sank back. Now that the asphalting is complete, the areas around the chambers are deteriorating again due to vehicle traffic.

PMC Road Department Superintendent Engineer Sahebrao Dandge stated, “After the new asphalting, we are immediately addressing the chamber work. Approximately 45 engineers from the road department will conduct another survey of the roads. Within the next eight days, we will collect information on potholes on all city roads and the condition of the chambers, and work on them within eight days.”