PUNE: The civic body has restarted the drive against abandoned or unattended vehicles along city roads.According to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, the latest initiative was taken to ensure smooth passage of the procession of Ganesh idols during immersion. If vehicles are abandoned on the procession route, it may create traffic problems. So, we have started this action. The Peth areas are under our focus, said Madhav Jagtap, head of the PMCs anti-encroachment department.Activists, however, dubbed the PMCs drive as just an eye wash. The civic body has started taking action against abandoned vehicles to ensure that there is no problem during immersion. But it should become a regular exercise, an activist said.As per the civic officials, this drive is being conducted on Tilak Road, Laxmi Road, Kumthekar Road, Bajirao Road, Nana Peth and Kelkar Road. A deadline of 24 hours has been given to owners to remove the abandoned vehicles from roads.PMC officials said that the civic administration has also informed the police about these vehicles. They can be misused by miscreants during the festive period. The details are also being shared with the regional transport office, said a PMC official.These vehicles create nuisance throughout the year. PMC should focus on their proper disposal. Carrying out a drive just once or twice will not be effective. The administration should also act against the owners of these vehicles, said Vijay Kumbhar of Sujrajya Sangharsha Samiti, a citizen group.PMC will auction the abandoned vehicles confiscated by them during special drives. Nearly 300 vehicles, including cars and bikes, would be scrapped after auctioning. The civic body had carried out a drive in February this year during which it confiscated 1,100 vehicles.The PMC officials said that in February they had given a public notice of two weeks to vehicle owners to come forward and claim their vehicles. Two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers were handed over to the owners after collecting fines from them. PMC started the drive against abandoned vehicles in 2018. As many as 690 vehicles were towed away in the first phase. Over 450 vehicles were confiscated in the second phase in 2019. The drive could not gather pace in 2020 due to the pandemic. It was restarted in August 2021 and were conducted in 2022.We also published the following articles recentlyVehicles driving wrong side choke Indiranagar underpassThe Indiranagar underpass on the Mumbai-Agra highway in Nashik is experiencing heavy traffic, particularly after 9pm, as many motorists are using the underpass from the Govindnagar side, which is not allowed. Violators are causing traffic jams and residents have complained about the situation. The city traffic police have put up signages and will take action against those breaking the rules.TN truck owners to refrain from operating vehicles in Karnataka during bandhThe Tamil Nadu Truck Owners Federation has decided to not operate their vehicles in Karnataka on Tuesday in response to a bandh called by farmers groups and pro-Kannada organizations. This decision comes after unidentified individuals attacked Tamil Nadu trucks in Karnataka, causing damage. The federation has appealed for the safety of drivers already in Karnataka. In related news, farmers in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, are protesting for the release of Cauvery River water from Karnataka, while farmers in Mandya, Karnataka, are protesting to stop water from being released to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka is considering not releasing the full daily quota of water to Tamil Nadu as directed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority.Man run over by vehicleA man was killed in a hit and run incident in Nand Nagri, Delhi. The incident occurred near ITI, and the police are yet to identify the vehicle and driver involved. The victims identity is also unknown. In a separate incident, a woman was injured when a truck collided with a car in Mangolpuri. The police are investigating both cases and are reviewing CCTV footage for leads.

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