Pune Collector Reviews Disaster Management Efforts, Orders Structural Audit Of Bridges, Roads, Buildings Within 7 Days
Pune Collector Reviews Disaster Management Efforts, Orders Structural Audit Of Bridges, Roads, Buildings Within 7 Days
Pune, June 17, 2025: Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi conducted a review meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority following the tragic incident in Kundmala, Maval taluka, where four tourists lost their lives. He emphasized that citizen safety is the highest priority and called for coordinated efforts among all government agencies to prevent similar accidents.
He directed that a structural audit of all old and dangerous bridges, causeways, roads, buildings, heritage structures, hoardings, and railway bridges in the district should be completed within 7 days. Reports must be submitted to the Disaster Management Cell, and structures found unsafe must be dismantled with minimal public inconvenience.
The Collector also ordered:
- Identification and public awareness of hazardous locations.
- Barricading of waterlogged roads during monsoon.
- Restriction of tourists at dangerous spots.
- Installation of signboards and direction boards at tourist spots with help from forest committees.
- Appointment of extra personnel where required and mock drills at vulnerable locations.
- 24×7 operation of taluka-level control rooms.
- Survey of flood-prone villages and preventive action in low-lying slums along riverbanks.
- Training and honoring of “Aapda Mitras” (Disaster Volunteers).
- Preparedness by the health department in terms of hospital beds, ambulances, medical officers, medicine stock, and blood banks.
- Verification of rain gauge stations in villages.
- Deployment of lifeguards and police at crowded areas.
- Inspection of electric poles, transformers, and wires by MSEDCL.
He instructed that people living in landslide-prone areas be alerted in advance, and the administration should provide updated information in simple language. Past mistakes during disasters must be analyzed and corrected in current disaster management plans.
With the Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar Palkhi Processions approaching, unauthorized hoardings and dangerous trees along routes must be removed. Roadside levelling and clearing of traffic obstructions should be prioritized.
CEO Gajanan Patil stressed that a panel should be formed for structural audits given the large number of public structures. He also highlighted the need for special safety measures on Kalyan Highway and tourist hotspots like Naneghat, Jivdhan Fort, and Bhimashankar.
Pune Rural SP Sandeep Gill stated that police are actively surveying hazardous areas and coordinating with the administration for necessary measures. He suggested increasing the number of disaster volunteers and holding bi-weekly coordination meetings with locals.
The meeting was attended by officials from the PWD, Irrigation, Agriculture, Health Departments, Pune & Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations, Police, PMRDA, Forest Department, MSEDCL, RTO, IMD, and other related departments.
