Prolonged repairs put lives of Pune’s Baner Pashan Link Road locals at risk

For residents of VTP Solitaire housing society and other neighbouring high-rises on Baner Pashan Link Road (BPLR), the daily commute has turned into a perilous balancing act.Navigating a narrow, cratered stretch between Someshwarwadi and BPLR, commuters find themselves squeezed between flowing sewage on one side and the unguarded banks of the Ramnadi on the other.
Despite a decade-old, approved development plan (DP) road, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has failed to provide a motorable access point to residents, forcing over 1,000 of them to rely on a dangerous dirt track. The situation reached a breaking point over the last four months after the PMC began laying a drainage pipeline, transforming the stretch into a mud-slicked hazard for pedestrians and two-wheeler riders. Kedar Bhagwat, a local resident, described the PMC's progress as taking place "at a snail's pace", despite multiple appeals to civic officials. He noted that the road was first dug up on the BPLR side up to Crystal Garden society, then abandoned during the monsoon last year, leaving construction debris scattered everywhere. "In Oct-Nov 2025, PMC workers dug up the remaining stretch towards Someshwarwadi temple, only to realise that they needed to install a chamber on the section they had already finished," Bhagwat said. "There are no streetlights or safety railings. If someone swerves to avoid a pit in the dark, they fall into the river. We are currently at the mercy of our fate," he added. The infrastructure deficit extends beyond convenience to basic safety. Rutvik Mrug, another resident, pointed out that despite the builder's promise of a DP road when many of them bought homes here, the PMC has shown no urgency in ensuring an access route. "There are over 500 apartments here, plus chawls lining the road. We've seen autorickshaws fall into the river in the past. Are we waiting for a major disaster before action is taken?" he asked. Lack of communication from the civic body has also disrupted daily life. Resident Bhawna Bhutani recalled her daughter missing the school bus because workers barricaded the society entrance on the BPLR side without prior notice. "School buses now refuse to enter the narrow, muddy lane. Children have to be walked through the slush to the main road," she said, adding that the narrow path makes it nearly impossible for emergency services like fire tenders or ambulances to reach the societies. Another resident, Shweta Mishra, said, "School bus drivers are fed up of our calls requesting them to divert their route each time PMC decides to block one side of the road. Our children are not the only passengers they cater to. We have been suffering helplessly for over a year now. And it's not just school. I take my son for cricket practice in the evening, and each time I ride my two-wheeler on this stretch, I pray that we reach home unscathed. There is no road, just mud, craters, and boulders. One wrong move and you either fall on the road or into the river. Despite these conditions, the road is frequented by two- and four-wheelers trying to bypass traffic on BPLR." Resident Sapan Jaisinghani also said, "PMC randomly decides to close parts of the road without informing residents. On one occasion, many of us were forced to work from home as the road was blocked from both sides without prior notification." He added, "The poor condition of the road also affects vehicles, reducing their lifespan. I moved here two years ago, and the road condition has consistently been bad. However, over the last year, since this work started, it has become much worse. I fear for the safety of my 70-year-old mother, who insists on walking to Someshwarwadi temple twice a day. There is no footpath, no proper road, nothing. We have met Chandrakant Patil, Amol Balwadkar, and few other politicians as well as PMC officials, but in vain. They should visit the area at least once to understand what we are facing. We too are voters and taxpaying citizens." When TOI reached out to area corporator Balwadkar, he did not respond to calls or messages. Another ward nine corporator, Rohini Chimte, said work as per previous tenders has been completed, and a new tender for the remaining work will be issued this month itself. "Until the work of laying drainage pipes and other allied infrastructure is completed, we cannot begin construction of the retaining wall for Ramnadi or start work on the road. Once the tenders are issued and the remaining work is completed, we will immediately start both projects. There will be provisions for all these projects in the budget, and hence allocation of funds will not be a problem," she said. Responding to the grievances, Jagdish Khanore, chief engineer of the PMC's sewerage department, explained that the ongoing project involves laying a massive 900mm sewage line at a depth of 6–7 metres. "Earlier, the line was inside the river, leading to contamination whenever a drain broke. We are now moving it under the road for better maintenance," Khanore said. He said that this major project connects Pashan to the Mahabaleshwar Hotel area and is nearing completion. "Only about 100m of work remains, which we expect to finish this month. Regarding lack of safety railings around open pits, we will take immediate corrective action," Khanore added.