Roads less choked as VIP visits decrease post govt formation

Commuters can now breathe easy following formation of the new government in the state as roads leading to and from Pune Airport are no longer choked with traffic as they were for the past one month owing to a steady flow of very important persons (VIPs) arriving in helicopters and unscheduled flights. In the lead up to the recently concluded state assembly polls, roads were blocked at different chowks by state security personnel for facilitation of smooth movement of VIPs.
Security arrangements including temporary ‘no entries’ were in place till polling day to ensure a smooth commute for VIPs including state and union ministers and others who participated in the election campaigns. The roads were sanitised for the VIPs even as common citizens were asked to take alternate roads or longer detours, leading to traffic jams that lasted for hours, especially during the evenings.
Deputy commissioner of police/DCP (traffic) Amol Zende explained that the roads leading to the airport were closed to general vehicular traffic at appointed hours to facilitate movement of VIPs during the elections. “Currently, all the restrictions have been removed and no further traffic jams are being reported,” he said.
Civic activist Shashikala Tingare from Dhanori said that the two roads from Vishrantwadi to the airport and from the airport to Kalyani Nagar saw the maximum traffic jams during polling season. “There were serious traffic jams at Vishrantwadi, Dhanori, Tingare Nagar, Yerawada, Kalyani Nagar and Sanjay Park as most information technology (IT) professionals use these roads to reach their places of work/homes. We appeal to the authorities to ensure that lesser restrictions are placed on vehicular movement during future elections so that commuters do not have to suffer to make things easier for VIPs,” Tingare said.