This story is from April 15, 2019

Motorists on wrong side of law along Ahmednagar Road

Motorists on wrong side of law along Ahmednagar Road
Picture used for representational purpose only
PUNE: Wrong-side driving, illegal parking and an assortment of other traffic violations coupled with infrastructural issues have made the section of the Ahmednagar highway that passes through the city a hot-spot for daily vehicular congestions and accidents.
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Wrong-side driving has emerged as the biggest nuisance here. Residents in the area have frequently complained about two-wheelers, four-wheelers, school vans and even trucks driving on the wrong side and posing a serious threat to the lives of thousands of motorists and pedestrians.
And the traffic problems are not restricted to areas like Yerawada, Vimannagar, Chandannagar and Kharadi alone. Even the newly added areas of Wagholi and beyond are struggling.
Several residents have now taken to Twitter to seek answers from the authorities and even the Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari.
“Several punctures along the Ahmednagar Road have been closed by the Pune traffic police, but that has not deterred motorists from driving on the wrong side,” said Mehzabin Saiyed, a Kharadi resident. “Two-wheelers, cars and cabs can be seen driving on the wrong side at all times of the day. The illegally parked trucks along the road only add to the daily congestion. While these problems can be seen all along the Ahmednagar Road, nowhere are they as bad as along the Kharadi-Wagholi stretch,” Saiyed said.

Wagholi resident Santosh Lokhande added that even trucks, water tankers and cement mixers can be seen driving on the wrong side without any fear. “Wrong-side driving has been a nuisance in the Wagholi area for the longest time. There are several junctions, or punctures, along the road that allow easy u-turns leading to traffic jams,” he said.
Sanjeev Kumar Patil, another local resident, said while the place needs proper traffic management, people too must follow traffic rules. Haracharanjeet Butalia, also a resident, said nuisance makers often break the road dividers to create punctures that can be used as u-turns. “The authorities have turned a blind eye to the serious issue,” he said.
Qaneez Sukhrani, a civic activist and a resident, said two-way service lanes along the road can help curb wrong-side driving on the 60m main road. Service lanes, she said, are a better option than the contraflow lanes introduced by the Pune traffic police. “Dedicated contraflow lanes were created along the Ahmednagar Road to allow passage of wrong-side vehicles. I took up the matter and the lanes were removed overnight. Service lanes are necessary along this road to check such traffic violations,” she said.
While speaking of the Ahmednagar Road, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Pankaj Deshmukh said, “We have identified spots which act as punctures along the Ahmednagar Road and are in the process of closing them. Other infrastructural changes are also being made to ensure smoother flow of traffic.”
Some police personnel and citizens have said that the removal of the dedicated bus rapid transit system (BRTS) lane from the Ahmednagar Road would go a long way in solving the traffic chaos here.
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