After Varanasi flyover collapse: PMC, PCMC say flyovers, overbridges safe, nothing to worry about

He said there were six flyovers in Pimpri-Chinchwad and work on them had already been completed. “Work on only one flyover, at Jagtap Dairy chowk, is underway and we are taking care to ensure it goes off smoothly,” said Patil.

PMC Chief Engineer, project, Srinivas Bonala said there were 55 flyovers, overbridges and bridges in Pune city. “Last year, we had undertaken repair and strengthening work on 18 overbridges. Of these, work on eight overbridges has been completed. The remaining 10 don’t require major work… we will soon complete the work,” he said.

This year, PMC has appointed a consultant to check flyovers in the city that were 25 years old, said Bonala. (Photo by Manoj More)

This year, PMC has appointed a consultant to check flyovers in the city that were 25 years old, said Bonala. “After receiving the consultant’s report, we will initiate necessary action to strength the flyovers,” he said, adding that while the bridges and road overbridges in the city were older, the flyovers were relatively new — either 25 or less than 25 years old.

Bonala said work on three overbridges was currently under progress. “One is the historical Sangam bridge while the other two are at Koregaon Park and Mundhwa,” he said.

While PCMC officials said not much maintenance work was required on these structures, PMC officials had a different view. “After they are constructed, flyovers need to undergo maintenance work once in five years. Otherwise, the structures are so sturdy that they don’t require regular maintenance,” said Patil.

Bonala, however, said, maintenance work on the structures was needed and “it involves strengthening the structure if it has become weak…”.

However, a local activist claimed that the parapet wall of the flyovers at most places was so thin that if a vehicle rammed it, the car was bound to fall off. “The case in point is the Engineering College flyover… the parapet wall is so thin on the right side that if a driver errs even a bit, it may result in a major accident,” said activist Dominic Lobo.

Activist Prashant Inamdar claimed most flyovers were not safe, explaining, “The design of several flyovers is faulty. There are other issues such as unsafe and accident-prone entry/exits, steep gradients, low parapet walls, dangerous curves, uneven or slippery road surface, lack of signage and road markings, inadequate lighting etc.”

Inamdar cited the examples of Magarpatta flyover and COEP flyover complex. “The pillars of some of the flyovers come in the way of vehicle movement and cause traffic congestion…,” he said.

However, both PMC and PCMC officials allayed fears of any such mishaps and said that the walls were quite strong.

Meanwhile, Metro officials also put such worries to rest. Work on the Pune Metro project has been under progress for the last one-and-a-half years.

Ramnath Subramanyam, executive director of Pune Metro, said they have to submit a report about the amount of work done and the safety steps taken every month to the two funding agencies involved in the project. Subramanyam said the project involved a team of engineers, a team of Metro officials and a team of contractors. “The three teams are making coordinated efforts to construct the Metro without any untoward incidents,” he said, adding that in such a scenario, the possibility of any mishap was “remote”.