Pune: Illegal roadside shops choke Chakan roads, workers lose hours in daily jams

Pune: Hundreds of illegal roadside shops and stalls that have mushroomed along key roads in Chakan are now choking traffic movement and fuelling anger among the thousands of industrial workers who travel every day to the industrial belt. Many of them criticized civic authorities for what they said was a failure of oversight.“We leave home on time to reach our factories before shift, only to find ourselves stuck in endless jams. Authorities know exactly where the encroachments are, but those shops and stalls are still there,” said industrial worker Akshay Kute.Some of the worst-affected spots include Manik Chowk, Nanekarwadi and the Talegaon and Ambethan junctions, along the Pune-Nashik, Chakan-Talegaon and Chakan-Shikrapur road corridors.Santosh Sandhbhor, another factory worker and daily commuter, said encroachment worsened with the expansion of the industrial belt.“Chakan roads were already narrow, unable to handle the traffic volumes we see today. Instead of ensuring these narrow roads stayed clear, authorities let shops and stalls come up everywhere. We’re left to pay the price,” Sandhbhor said.Deepak Gosavi, inspector with Chakan traffic police department, said the situation now calls for immediate action. “Illegal roadside businesses have caused considerable congestion. The civic authority must remove them as soon as possible,” he said.Chakan Municipal Council’s chief officer Ankush Jadhav admitted that encroachment has affected key junctions in Chakan. He also alleged there were individuals illegally collecting parking money from motorists.“If action is not taken, the traffic problem will worsen. We have decided to initiate an anti-encroachment drive in the coming weeks,” Jadhav said.But industrial workers warned that occasional anti-encroachment drives would be pointless.“These structures need to be permanently removed. Chakan continues to attract industrial units and the workforce is growing. The shops that are removed, but never come back,” said Dilip Batwal, the secretary of the federation of Chakan industry.