Pune: Residents and civic activists censured the PMC’s failure to regulate and monitor over 1,400 daily tanker trips in its jurisdiction following fatal accidents in the NIBM-Undri area and Wanowrie.Civic activists stressed the enforcement remained dismal despite a mandate for GPS installation in tankers to track their movement. Many private operators allegedly bypass the tracking system. Worse, the absence of functional speed governors in vehicles allowed reckless driving in residential zones, said residents.Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, in contrast, said a foolproof system was in place to keep track of tankers. “The civic administration is taking strict action against those not using the GPS system. The PMC has started the process to blacklist the tanker services involved in accidents. Other options like installing breathalysers at tanker filling stations will be explored,” said Nandkishor Jagtap, the head of PMC’s water department.Tankers of contractors are allowed to fill water at designated points — Ramwadi, Swargate, Bund Garden, Patwardhan Baug, Yerawada, Chaturshrungi and Pashan. The civic tankers make 1,400 trips daily. Of those, 1,000 are designated and 400 are emergency trips.Residents of housing societies claimed that the service of water tanker operators nosedived every summer and reckless driving of water carriers was a new worry. Tahir Shaikh, a resident of Undri, said, “Tanker drivers don’t follow traffic norms.”Mohammad Saif, a resident of Kondhwa, said stringent action against rash tanker drivers and their operators was a must. “The political backing and vested interests of local leaders have made the tanker operations a nuisance. A number of drunk-driving cases have been reported against tanker drivers, but no stringent action has been taken. Many tankers are not fit for operations. The RTO should look into this matter,” he said.
