Pune: Come festivities, and he city streets remain choc-a-bloc with cars and private buses heading to various destinations such as Solapur, Ahmednagar, Mumbai, Nagpur, Wardha, Chandrapur, Nanded, Nashik, Satara, Kolhapur, and to Hyderabad and Bengaluru.In the absence of any dedicated parking spots for these buses, they are often parked along the main roads, causing inconvenience to commuters.This problem is more acute at exit points in the city on Solapur highway in Hadapsar, Kharadi bypass junction on Nagar Road and at Sangamwadi bus stand. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has not been able to provide any solution to the issue. As a temporary solution, the police often try to direct the traffic to a single lane, but often fail to do so.The demand for buses is high for Nagpur, Wardha, Chandrapur and Nanded, and we have arranged for more buses to meet the demand, said Kiran Desai, working president, Pune Cars and Bus Owners Association.This not only causes traffic congestion, but also poses trouble for commuters. Regular commuters from the Patil Estate area said that a narrow carriageway outside the slum and a sharp turn was slowing down traffic movement. A huge traffic jam was witnessed for a couple of hours on Wednesday due to sudden increase in bus operation. The buses are forced to negotiate the haphazardly parked vehicles below the flyover to reach Sangamwadi Road. There is a need to widen the road along the flyover, Dada Khude, a local resident, said.In addition, citizens also need to contend with overcharging. Sharmila Joshi, who was travelling to Nagpur with her son, said, I paid Rs 3,100 for each ticket for my journey scheduled for Saturday, which generally costs between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500. The authorities should take some action because not everybody can afford to pay this much amount.Despite the authorities promising action, nothing seems to have changed on the ground. in the cityWe have taken action against 63 buses till Wednesday for various kinds of violations. One bus was found to be overcharging on Pune-Chandrapur route. We have received a total of 28 complaints from commuters by email, but important details needed for action are missing, said Sanjeev Bhor, regional transport officer (RTO), Pune.Pune traffic deputy commissioner of police Vijaykumar Magar said, We do try to streamline private buses which line up at Sangamwadi and Kharadi bypass. There is heavy traffic due to buses parked along the main roads, although we do try to direct these buses to one lane. The traffic police have been talking to the PMC to provide a dedicated spot for these buses. At Hadapsar, we are trying to find a private plot, but it needs to be developed by private parties.The civic administration has been making efforts to decongest the roads during festive season. Vikas Dhakane, additional commissioner, PMC, said, The municipal corporation has already identified space for buses, both state and BRTS, and for private buses between Gunjan Talkies and Shashtrinagar, which will not only decongest the roads but also provide a safe boarding spot for commuters. At Hadapsar, we are still negotiating with private landowner for a spot to park the buses.(With inputs from Sarang Dastane)

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