Making roads safer: PMC to repair 10,000 drainage chambers, bring them to road level
The PMC recently upgraded 75 km of roads in the city for the Pune Grand Tour, for which 2,000 drainage manholes were repaired and brought at the level of roads.
The drainage chambers on city roads that are not at the level of roads are reasons for many accidents, said municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)
To make driving safer on city roads, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to repair 10,000 drainage manhole chambers, bringing them to the level of roads to reduce accidents.
“There are about 40,000 manholes on city roads and 10,000 of them are in a bad condition. They are at a diffferent level than the roads, which causes traffic problems and accidents. We have launched a programme to bring all manholes to road levels to improve traffic movement and road safety,” said municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram.
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Making Roads Safer: PMC to Fix 10,000 Drainage Manholes Across Pune
Scale of the Problem
40,000
Total manholes on Pune city roads
10,000
Manholes in bad condition, below road level
25%
Share of manholes posing safety risk
₹12 Cr
Budget sanctioned for repair drive
Why It Matters
🛵 Monsoon Accidents
Two-wheelers skid over waterlogged, below-level manhole lids during rains
🏥 Health Impact
Motorists report chronic back and neck pain from repeated jolts
⚖️ HC Directive
Bombay HC orders criminal action against engineers & contractors for road-related deaths
🔧 5 Agencies
Experienced firms to be appointed for city-wide repairs on a war-footing basis
Express InfoGenIE
The PMC recently upgraded 75 km of roads in the city for the Pune Grand Tour, for which 2,000 drainage manholes were repaired and brought at the level of roads.
“The PMC has already launched a pothole-free programme in the city. The drainage chambers on city roads that are not at the level of roads are reasons for many accidents. During monsoon, two-wheelers usually meet with accidents over waterlogged drainage chambers as the lid is below the road level. Many motorists have also complained about back and neck pain,” the civic chief said.
The Bombay High Court has directed that criminal action be taken against the engineer and contractor concerned for any accidental death due to potholes on roads across the state, the civic chief said.
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“The PMC will appoint five experienced agencies to repair the manhole covers on roads across the city and bring it to the level of roads on war-footing by spending Rs 12 crore,” he said.
Ram said roads have been given priority this year by the newly constituted City Transformation cell.
The drainage chambers on city roads that are not at the level of roads are reasons for many accidents, said municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram. (Express photo by Arul Horizon) 
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