Pune: The govt usually sets a target to reduce accidents by at least 10% for every police unit in the state, but has pegged it at 15% for the Pune Rural police that records almost 1,000 road fatalities annually — the highest among various jurisdictions in Maharashtra.The district has many national and state highways — including highways connecting Pune-Ahilyanagar, Pune-Solapur, Pune-Satara, Pune-Nashik, Pune-Mahad and Nagar-Kalyan, apart from other major roads. Some sections of the Pune-Mumbai expressway also pass through the Pune Rural police’s jurisdiction.In 2022, the Pune Rural police recorded 947 fatalities, 1,093 in 2023 and 967 in 2024.Superintendent of police, Pune Rural, Sandeep Singh Gill said, “The state govt has increased the target for the Pune Rural police to 15% reduction of road fatalities as against the general 10% for other units, because we record the highest number of accidents. We have taken up the challenge.”He said, “We have formed three different committees with govt agencies, like the state Public Works Department, revenue officials and others. The teams will visit black spots that are sections of roads where accidents happen repeatedly. The teams will take corrective measures to improve visibility for drivers. It will also improve the road infrastructure with the help of other authorities to avert accidents at these spots.”“Additionally, we have decided to bar all illegal punctures in the medians along the national and state highways. It will avert illegal crossings and reduce accidents,” Gill said.The Pune Rural police will also undertake awareness drives in the district. “It is generally the heavy vehicles that are involved in fatal accidents, since its volume is high on the national and state highways. We will monitor their movement,” he added.
