Pune : Agriculture College internal road might be accessible to traffic only by Feb-end

The purpose of the Agriculture College’s internal road was to relieve traffic congestion on the congested Ganeshkhind Road, but commuters will have to wait until the end of February to use it, according to Shivajinagar Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Siddharth Shirole.

According to Shirole, college administrators had expressed worries on Thursday regarding student safety on campus and in open ground areas.

Before it opens to the public, college officials stressed the need for adequate manpower and barricading on the stretch. They also recommended an additional internal path, which is being thought about.

Shirole went on to say that the commuters would not be able to use the road until the barricading work was finished and the alternate route was assessed. It will take until the end of the month at the latest to implement the entire plan.

The deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and the administrators of Agriculture College agreed to the Shivajinagar MLA’s proposal for an alternate route after he had previously brought up the problem of traffic jams on Ganeshkhind Road.

The area following Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) Chowk has experienced heavy traffic from time to time.

The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) plans to build an integrated flyover in the area that will connect SPPU Chowk to the E-Square junction. The flyover will have a road for vehicles below and a Metro line above. By August 15 of this year, PMRDA is to complete the flyover work as instructed by the government.

Shirole proposed an alternate route that would have avoided using the main Ganeshkhind Road by allowing traffic from Fergusson College (FC) Road to go directly into Agriculture College and access Bhosalenagar in order to reach Aundh or Bopodi.

An Agriculture College official said that although they had initially agreed to allow use of their internal road, they now have reservations due to security concerns.

The Agriculture College further said that many students are on campus, and they have to complete their practical work outside on the grounds. Opening this road for traffic will be problematic unless there is adequate barricading to prevent students’ practical work from being hindered and sufficient staffing to prevent commuters from stopping and interfering with students’ work.