19 accident-prone spots in city, urgent action needed to ensure safety of commuters

Serious accidents are common on Pune-Solapur Road, Pune-Ahmednagar stretches: Data

- Nadeem Inamdar

PUNE: A total of 278 people lost their lives in 271 road accidents on Pune city roads this year, with two-wheeler riders accounting for the highest number of fatalities, according to the data from the Pune traffic police department.

The fatalities occurred across different parts of the city, with areas such as Pune-Ahmednagar Road, Solapur Road, Katraj, Hadapsar, and the Mumbai-Bengaluru bypass highway emerging as high-risk zones.

Serious accidents are particularly common on the Pune-Solapur Road and Pune-Ahmednagar stretches. The inclusion of areas like Lonikand and Loni Kalbhor under the Pune police commissionerate has brought additional challenges, given the significant volume of daily heavy traffic on these routes.

"There are private companies in Ranjangaon Industrial Estate along Ahmednagar Road, and vehicles travelling to Marathwada region pass through this stretch. The increasing traffic in this area has led to a rise in accidents. Moreover, many housing projects in Wagholi, Lonikand, and Kesnand have attracted employees from private companies who prefer to live here," said Kedar Manjare, a Wagholi resident and member of Nagar Road Citizens Association.

Speeding vehicles Other parts of the city face similar problems. Rutuja Kanade, a resident of Katraj-Kondhwa Road, shared her fears:

"Every day, hundreds of heavy vehicles speed down Katraj-Kondhwa Road. Riding a bike on this road is terrifying, especially with children or elderly family members. If these heavy vehicles hit us, there's little chance of survival. Heavy vehicles should be banned during the daytime."