Rapid Growth Brings Host Of Civic Issues To Aundh

Time of India

8 hours ago

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Pune: The locality of Aundh has many faces, from a quiet, upscale residential neighbourhood to a rapidly developing commercial zone and a designated Smart City area.
Development has brought to Aundh an influx of constructions, with a growing demographic of cosmopolitan residents paving the way for eateries, malls and an abundance of traffic.
Bottlenecks and traffic violations abound
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Encroachment, haphazard parking and the traffic chaos arising from the former are the biggest issues plaguing Aundh these days, said residents — both those living here for decades and even the more recent entrants.
A resident of Sylvan Heights in the Sanewadi area of Aundh, Chirag Baxi, told TOI that traffic flow through the area has probably tripled over the last few decades.
"No one follows the rules. They park wherever they want, without any attention to P1/P2 signs. On some streets, shopowners have allegedly even pulled down some no-parking signs to ensure that their customers can park. This is a big problem in the lane where I live.
I am not able to take my car out every day as a result," he said.
"Footpaths throughout Aundh have been taken over either by shops or vehicles. There is just no space to walk anymore.
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Late at night the Seasons Road, which is a three-lane route off ITI Road, becomes a one-way lane for traffic coming from both sides because of double parking," he added.
Baxi is not alone in his disillusionment. Another Aundh resident, Siddharth, had similar views. "I have been a local of the area for many years and I increasingly find navigating the roads, especially Seasons Road, a tough task. Double-parking blocks traffic flow here entirely, especially from 11pm to well past midnight.
If one parks illegally on ITI Road, the vehicle almost immediately gets towed. Ironically, just one lane away on Seasons Road, it is the opposite case," he said.
Another issue on the same road is the medians, pointed out Siddharth. He said, "Someone almost always bumps into one of the medians and accidents have become a common occurrence here. A large reason for this is the increasing numbers of vehicles jostling for space while using this stretch, either because the population residing in the area has gone up or because of the Metro works, which are diverting a lot of traffic through Aundh.
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The junction between Aundh-Baner Road and Nagras Road has also witnessed a great deal of traffic flow in recent months. "This spot is almost always jam-packed and yet, devoid of police presence. Snarls stretch for kilometres on end. Encroachments narrow the carriageway width and increase commuters' stress. Haphazard parking adds to the chaos," said resident Vaishali Patkar.
When TOI contacted the area's traffic police in-charge, the officer said that the police have been coordinating with Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to open up the road near Medipoint junction to ease traffic movement.
"Since Aundh is a connecting neighbourhood, vehicles coming from the big open streets of Pimpri Chinchwad to Pune get stuck, as the roads get narrower. We are also finding other ways to decongest the area," the senior police officer said.
Cleanliness goes down the drain
The rise in encroachments and commercial establishments is also contributing massively to waste generation in the area, continued Patkar. "There has to be some active regularisation when it comes to fines levied on illegal vendors.
They must also be fined for encroaching on traffic blind spots, which makes it difficult for motorists as well as pedestrians to navigate turns," she said.
Rupesh Junawane, a committee member of citizens' forum Aundh Vikas Mandal, said, "We have been requesting the ward office to start a ghanta gadi (trash collection van) service in the evening, so that all waste generated by hawkers can be collected. But this has not happened yet.
There is a lot of garbage lying on the streets wherever there is high encroachment, such as ITI Road, near DAV School junction, Nagras Road and around Ambedkar Chowk near Gaikwad petrol pump.
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Burning waste is another problem, especially on Spicer Road. "PMC officials must also conduct regular checks and prevent the burning to keep air pollution in check," added Patkar.
Pockets of this neighbourhood face drainage issues, too, said residents.
They added that although these get repaired temporarily, a short spell of rain leads to a resurgence of the problem.
Junawane said, "There are open plots and halted construction projects in the area because of ongoing litigation — some that have been stagnant for a decade. These areas collect water, especially in the monsoon, and become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. This is a serious health hazard for those living in nearby buildings."
Altered sense of safety takes over locality
Aundh was very different three decades ago, recollected resident Devendra Anjikar. While development is crucial, he said, the altered fabric of the neighbourhood is an issue of concern. "We used to have cultural spaces that hosted sports activities, plays and even musical gatherings, but those seem like things of the past now. We do have some cultural events, but it is much rarer," Anjikar told TOI.
A year ago, in June 2024, a 77-year-old man was brutally attacked while out on his morning walk around Parihar Chowk by a group of minors attempting to rob him. He later succumbed to his injuries, sparking widespread outrage and backlash against lax law enforcement.
Anjikar added, "Primarily, what has changed is the ability to walk safely through the neighbourhood. There are no continuous walkways and that is a big hassle.
In several parts, parking or shops have taken over footpaths, and continuous traffic is detrimental to pedestrians. Public spaces have become more dangerous in the light of weak security measures and non-functional CCTV surveillance."
Baxi echoed, "Late at night, we see many people just sitting on the roadside along Seasons Road and consuming liquor out in the open. Police vigilance is required."
Junawane summed up, "Each month at the mohalla committee meeting, when we ask for some improvement in the neighbourhood, we are told that the ward office has no funds.
Considering that we have not had corporators for the last few years, there is a shortage of funds and a lot of local issues remain unresolved. In such a scenario, corporator funds should be given to the ward office so that necessary improvements can continue to be made.
Aundh is facing a lot of problems today and despite repeated complaints, nothing has changed on ground."
Residents Speak:
Aundh is not the same as before. The loss of green cover here is massive. The condition of roads improved over time, but since vehicles also tripled, it does not make much of a difference. Traffic flow at Parihar Chowk is incessant and so are bottlenecks at various spots. A lot changed for the better with the Smart City initiative, but it is all falling apart now. A major reason is because it was all carried out without taking citizens' opinions into consideration — Kunal Chordia | Businessman
Even though we coordinated with Smart City officials since the beginning, nothing that was promised was done. We were told there would be two gardens at Medipoint junction, but they were never built. Dedicated hawker zones were also never built and so streets are lined with unauthorised vendors. Footpaths in some areas are non-existent and in others they are in a poor state. The width of roads was also to be increased as Aundh is a connecting route between Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad — Rupesh Junawane | Committee member, Aundh Vikas Mandal
Official Says:
We have an additional garbage vehicle and I will try to arrange for it to be assigned to an evening collection route. As far as encroachments are concerned, we conduct regular drives. There are sanctioned hawker zones on ITI Road for example and drives are conducted even in this locality to ensure that only licensed hawkers operate in the zones. When it comes to footpaths, they come under the main PMC road department as roads here are over 12m in width.
I will coordinate with the main department and see what can be done to get the uneven footpaths fixed — Girish Dapkekar | Asst municipal commissioner, Aundh-Baner ward office