The sudden closure of one side of MLA Hostel Road between Raja Rani Chowk and Ahinsa Chowk, along with heavy vehicular movement due to events at nearby venues, led to severe traffic congestion on Sunday evening.
Motorists were stuck in long snarls just ahead of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s visit to Deshpande Hall to felicitate newly elected Rajya Sabha member Maya Ivnate, before traffic police intervened to bring the situation under control.
The Public Works Department (PWD) is carrying out concretisation work on the stretch between Raja Rani Chowk and Ahinsa Chowk. While the Ahinsa Chowk to Raja Rani Chowk side has been completed, the opposite side was abruptly shut for the works, forcing motorists to take U-turns at already congested junctions.
The situation worsened due to haphazard parking along both sides of the narrowed stretch. Traffic movement towards Satpura Lawns was also severely affected due to indiscriminate parking.
Sitabuldi Traffic Zone PI Aniruddha Puri confirmed that the closure of one side and roadside parking led to the chaos. “Without wasting time, we made Ahinsa Chowk to Raja Rani Chowk stretch one-way available for VIP movement and removed many vehicles wrongly parked on the roadside.
There was heavy traffic due to events at Vasantrao Deshmukh Hall and SCZCC. However, the problem was resolved before the arrival of VIPs,” he said.
Residents and commuters have already raised concerns over the slow pace of road concretisation work in Civil Lines and the elevated height of the newly constructed road.
First-time corporator Abhijeet Jha alleged negligence and poor execution by PWD officials. “I have complained multiple times regarding the ongoing work.
The elevated roads have increased the risk of flooding during monsoon. Also, the paver blocks being laid are of poor quality,” he said, adding that the stretch has been constructed unevenly.
A PWD official, however, claimed that all necessary measures are being followed for concretisation work from Tiger Capital Square to Ahinsa Chowk, and “even experts from VNIT have given consent”. “The road work, undertaken at an estimated project cost of Rs 18 crore, is almost completed. The stretch near MLA Hostel is closed for curing.
It will open in the next seven to eight days, while work will be done on the other side simultaneously. Two to three lanes near the Board office that lack proper drainage system may experience flooding. We will ensure that water from the road does not enter other areas,” the official said.
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