Pune: The recent incident of the Indrayani river in the temple town of Alandi, around 25 km from Pune, overflowing during the rains earlier this month has caused infrastructure damage estimated at nearly Rs15 crore, forcing the municipal council to shut two bridges to traffic and hold a structural audit before its reopening.Alandi Municipal Council (AMC) officials said the unprecedented rise in the river following heavy rainfall damaged key public infrastructure, including bridge railings and other civic amenities. The floodwaters also affected several low-lying areas along the river banks, disrupting normal life in one of Maharashtra’s most prominent pilgrimage centres.AMC chief officer Madhav Khandekar told TOI: “The preliminary assessment indicates that the damage to civic infrastructure is around Rs15 crore. Railings on all four bridges across the Indrayani river were damaged, while paver blocks and other riverfront infrastructure were also affected.”The municipal council has suspended vehicular movement on two bridges as a precautionary measure until the structural stability is established.“One of the four bridges across the river is from the British-era, thus a thorough structural audit is necessary. It will remain closed till then. An agency appointed by the public works department has carried out the audit of one of the bridges and that is likely to reopen in the next two days,” said Khandekar.The closure has led to traffic diversions which has inconvenienced commuters, pilgrims and local businesses that depend on seamless connectivity across the river.Meanwhile, residents described the recent floods as one of the worst the temple town has witnessed in recent decades.Police inspector Vivek Patil, incharge of the Dighi and Alandi traffic division, told TOI: “The traffic in the town is being managed across one bridge, leading to severe congestion. We have deployed our personnel at all crucial junctions to regulate vehicular movement. The peak hours witness gridlocks mainly due to the volume of vehicles passing through the town.”“The floods were unprecedented. The river rose to a level not many have seen before. The administration was not prepared for such an extreme event because such flooding is rare,” said local resident Swapnil Kamble.Officials acknowledged that the intensity of the floods was not anticipated and detailed damage assessments were continuing. The municipal council was expected to submit a comprehensive report to the district administration to seek financial assistance to restore damaged infrastructure.
