Accident-prone Kothrud Road in Pune

The absence of proper traffic guidelines and rash driving by motorists have made the stretch between Ghaisas Guruji Chowk near Ved Bhavan in Kothrud and Chandni Chowk accident prone.

This heavy traffic road connects Paud Road to Chandni Chowk and the Mumbai-Bangalore expressway. It has witnessed many accidents caused due to rash driving, especially in the wee hours of the day. Lack of dividers and absence of effective traffic management have encouraged motorists to use both sides of the road leading to Chandni Chowk and causing head-on collisions.

A spot visit by DNA on Thursday revealed that the vehicles entering the road from Mumbai-Bangalore expressway and the ones entering from Paud Road meet and cross each other, leading to accidents.

Shailesh Niyogi, a Kothrud resident, who regularly travels on this road told DNA, “Either dividers should be constructed on the road or the road should be converted into a one-way.”

“It is very unsafe to travel on the road. Commuters from both ways tend to use the entire road and head-on collisions are a regular outcome,” said Tapas Acharya, who uses the stretch regularly.
Assistant police inspector (traffic), Kothrud, SA Bhandare, said that he was unaware of the matter.

“However, we would look into the matter and make necessary arrangements to avoid accidents,” he said.