Open trenches in PCMC limits pose threat to motorists & pedestrians

By Siddhartha.Gaikwad
PUNE: A day after TOI reported the lack of adequate safety measures on a stretch of road dug up near KSB chowk in Chinchwad for flyover construction, the civic administration on Thursday installed tin sheet barricades along the trench and white plastic ribbons to caution citizens.
On January 29, TOI had reported that a 42-year-old motorcycle rider Vinod Baburao Madale died after his vehicle fell into the unguarded trench last Saturday.Though the Pimpri police have lodged a complaint against the contractor, he is yet to be arrested. They have also written to the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) seeking details of the contract agreement.
A visit by the TOI team to other ongoing road construction sites in the municipal limits revealed that several contractors have ignored the safety norms and there are at least three unplugged ongoing construction spots which can pose serious threat to the lives of the pedestrians and motorists.
In the last six months, the PCMC has started installing BRTS bus shelters on the 12-kilometre stretch of the Pune-Mumbai highway. The bus shelters at some places jut out on the service road and the shelters near the Bank of India branch at Babasaheb Ambedkar chowk in Pimpri and near Khandoba Mal chowk in Akurdi have no barricades or blinkers or warning signs.
Blinkers have been installed only at the bus shelters ahead of PCMC main office building and near the Pimpri police station along the highway.
When TOI brought this to the notice of Vijay Bhojane, spokesperson, BRTS cell, PCMC, he said, “The contractor was instructed to take safety measures. We will install blinkers at these bus shelters at the earliest.”
The civic body is also laying storm water drains on both sides of the Babasaheb Ambedkar Road in Buddhaghosh housing society in Sangvi. The contractor had dug up trenches on either side of the road and the debris is lying on either side of the trench. The trench is covered at places where the pipes have been laid, while it is still open at some places. Moreover, the contractor has removed the streetlight poles, enveloping the road in complete darkness. The local residents told TOI that several minor accidents have occurred on this road in the past few months. Motorcycles often skid due to the scattered debris.
The scene is same in Sangamnagar, where trenches have been dug up for laying water pipeline. They are still open at many places and debris is scattered on both sides of the open trenches. This has narrowed the road considerably. Santosh Patil, a local resident, said, “Three weeks back I got injured when my bike skidded due to the debris. My wife and our two-year-old daughter were also injured.”
The work of laying electrical cables is in progress in lane number five and six in Jaimalanagar. Trenches dug on both sides of the road remain uncovered at many places. Also, the chambers are open at many places.
On November 19, 2014, a man was seriously injured, when his motorcycle fell into an open storm water drainage chamber in Pimpale Gurav. The PCMC had claimed then that the iron grilles installed on the chambers were stolen by thieves.
Shirish Poredi, spokesperson, engineering department, PCMC told TOI that the civic body has undertaken the work of laying storm water drainage pipeline, water pipeline and constructing footpaths with paving blocks in parts of Sangvi like Buddhaghosh housing society, Jaimalanagar and Sangamnagar with an expenditure of Rs 6 crore. “We will ask the contractors to take safety measures. I agree that the citizens are facing problems. We will try to expedite the work and complete it by March 2015.”