PUNE: The heavy rains is not only lashing the city but it has also exposed the lack of maintenance of the traffic signals across the city. As the city lashed with heavy rains, the traffic police department is receiving daily 18 to 20 complaints of traffic signals not working. The traffic police officials have now decided to write to Pune Municipal Corporation regarding the maintenance of the traffic signals as most of the time the signals fail to work after the heavy rains.
The Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad area which is monitored by Pune traffic police has total 286 traffic signals of which seven to eight signals are permanently not working. According to the traffic police, if the working signals fail to work during rain, it puts additional burden on traffic movement in that chowk. Senior inspector (planning) RS Kamire of the traffic branch said, " After the city received heavy rains, nearly 15 to 18 signals had stopped working which added to traffic woes. We had to deploy additional staff to make sure that the traffic moved in those chows where signals were not working."
Kamire also said that after every heavy rainfall, such situation arises. " We have a special squad deployed for the same purpose which is sent to the spot where signals stop working. We have been getting nearly 18 to 20 calls of non functional signals. There are areas like Phadke Haud, Narpitgir chowk, Ramoshi gate where signals are not functioning and we have to deploy our staff to monitor the traffic," Kamire said.
The Pune Municipal corporation and traffic police jointly have appointed three teams which look after the repair of the non-functioning traffic signals. Kamire said, " Out of these three teams, two are deployed in Pune and one team is stationed in PCMC areas. The teams get a record of non functioning signals every morning and they immediately repair the signals. After these signals were not working in the city, we had informed the civic administration and today only we have got a reply from the civic administration that all the non functioning signals have been repaired."
