PUNE: Pune continued to grapple with the aftermath of heavy monsoon showers on Thursday, with widespread waterlogging, traffic snarls and civic disruptions exposing shortcomings in the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) pre-monsoon preparedness.Around 250 complaints were received at the civic body’s control room as flooded roads, inundated basements, fallen trees and clogged stormwater drains disrupted normal life across the city.Residents from several neighbourhoods reported severe waterlogging on roads and inside housing society basements after stormwater drainage grates were blocked by stones, garbage and floating debris. Strong winds and heavy rain also uprooted trees and snapped large branches, damaging property in several areas.Road closures, washed-out bridge hit connectivityHeavy rainfall also affected connectivity in parts of Pune district. A temporary bridge at Malkhed village on the Khanapur-Panshet Road was swept away by floodwaters, while the road embankment at Dongerwadi in Tamhini Ghat was washed away.Authorities advised motorists to avoid travelling through Tamhini, while 13 roads in Junnar and Ambegaon talukas were temporarily closed after water flowed over bridges and causeways, further disrupting traffic movement. Access to several tourist destinations across Mahabaleshwar, Wai, Khandala, Junnar and Ambegaon also remained restricted following landslides and rising water levels.Traffic crawls as key roads go under waterTraffic moved at a crawl across several parts of the city as water accumulated on major roads and at key junctions.The PMC had identified 120 waterlogging-prone locations before the monsoon, including Shahir Amar Shaikh Chowk, Fatimanagar, Bhairobanala Chowk, Radha Hotel Chowk in Baner, North Main Road in Mundhwa, Tadigutta Chowk, Seven Loves Chowk, the stretch below Ruby Hall Metro station, Gunjan Talkies and Rajaram Bridge. Police had separately identified 26 highly flood-prone spots.Hotspots flood again despite pre-monsoon worksAlthough civic officials claimed that permanent repairs had been completed at 85 identified locations, the latest spell of heavy rain exposed persistent flooding at several of these hotspots, residents and police said. Several citizens facing rain-related emergencies contacted the civic body’s round-the-clock control room for assistance.Emergency teams pressed into serviceEmergency response teams, along with fire brigade personnel, were deployed to clear blocked stormwater drains, remove fallen trees and pump out water from flooded basements and housing societies. Additional municipal commissioner Omprakash Diwate said pumps and emergency teams were deployed across affected localities.Heavy discharge of 27,203 cusec from the full Khadakwasla dam prompted the evacuation of 492 families, comprising around 1,560 residents, from flood-prone areas, including Shantinagar in Yerawada, Sainathnagar in Wadgaon Sheri, Patil Estate in Shivajinagar and Bopodi, to temporary municipal shelters.Relief work slowed by equipment shortageCorporator Manjushree Khardekar said severe waterlogging affected roads, slums and housing societies across Ward No. 29 (Deccan Gymkhana–Happy Colony), with water rising to waist level in some residential complexes.She said relief operations were delayed because of a shortage of jetting machines, water pumps and manpower, and urged the civic administration to strengthen monsoon preparedness with additional equipment and a long-term plan to prevent recurring flooding.Residents also flagged civic issues aggravating the situation. Manasi Kulkarni, a resident of Kothrud, said garbage dumped along roads blocks drains and makes roads slippery during rain, increasing the risk of accidents at locations such as the Kothrud depot.Garbage mound collapse triggers major rescue operationHeavy rain also triggered a major emergency at Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s waste-to-energy plant in Moshi, where a mountain of legacy waste collapsed onto a three-storey administrative building around 1. 30pm.The structure caved in after the garbage mound, located about 30 metres away, crashed into it, trapping around 20 people under the debris.Four people managed to escape immediately after the collapse, while rescue teams involving the NDRF, Army engineers, fire brigade, police and medical personnel launched a marathon operation. By late night, 13 people had been rescued alive, while efforts continued to locate those still trapped. External mechanical ventilation systems were used to supply fresh air inside the damaged building amid fears of oxygen depletion and toxic methane from the garbage.Municipal commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi said the building, constructed two years ago, had no known structural issues and appeared to have been struck after a massive heap of garbage slid down “like a landslide”.Twenty-five cardiac ambulances, along with doctors from the PCMC and the Army, remained stationed at the site as rescue operations continued through the night.
