Pune: Densely populated, Ambedkar Chowk on Aundh Road is a crucial junction linking Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits with Pimpri Chinchwad, as also directly connecting Aundh to Khadki. Commuters from Aundh, Baner and Shivajinagar easily access Khadki railway station, Kalyaninagar, Koregaon Park, Vimannagar and the airport via this intersection.But Ambedkar Chowk’s congestion is further compounded by oft-defunct signals, motorists on the wrong side of the road, and a lack of police presence. Daily nightmare Prashant Saawant, an entrepreneur living on Bhau Patil Road, said, “I have resided in this area for nearly two decades, commuting through Ambedkar Chowk daily for grocery runs, trips into PMC areas, or heading to office in Hinjewadi. Traffic has gone from bad to worse. A signal was installed years ago but turned operational recently. Even now, it is off on more days. Mornings and evenings are chaos during peak office hours — everyone is in a rush and right of way is a forgotten concept.” “Even when the traffic light is on, offenders ignore it, leaving responsible motorists to bear the brunt. When gridlock hits its peak, Good Samaritans step in. But the junction needs full-time traffic police personnel, at least until civic sense replaces compulsive rule-breaking,” the former IT professional added. The traffic signal here has been made functional since July 15. But junction users pointed out that drivers, especially two-wheeler riders, still ignore it. “It is a constant nightmare to travel through this chowk. Some police officers I spoke to claimed the signal was turned off as it tended to cause a long queue of vehicles from Bremen Chowk. But the signal is also ill-timed. Keeping it off was never the solution,” said retired corporate executive and area resident Praful Panicker. “When traffic police are not visible to motorists, they break road rules. Visible police presence is key to making people toe the line. I have sent feedback to the local traffic in-charge multiple times. Some changes were executed, but lasted only for a few days. A long-term solution is still pending,” he added. Soman EG, a founding member of the Aundh Road-Bhau Patil Road Residents Association, said, “Since there are no zebra crossings or white line markings to follow, motorists stop almost in the middle of the junction, blocking vehicles coming from other directions. The signal is not functional most of the time, so it gets ignored even when it’s working. Its timings also need to be displayed prominently as there is a 15-20 second gap when signals from all sides turn red. Commuters then feel like it has stopped working.” Besides infrastructure issues, road users said implementation of rules is poor here. For example, many two-wheelers that cross don’t have number plates, so catching them for violations is difficult. This has no solution other than dependable police deployment, and even their presence is no guarantee of controlled movement, said residents. Infra errors In Oct 2024, PMC inaugurated a new bridge connecting Aundh Road to Sangvi at a cost of Rs30 crore and the axing of hundreds of trees. Officials had claimed the bridge would ease traffic congestion at Ambedkar Chowk. In Nov 2025, it was closed for almost three months for a “beautification project” at an additional cost of Rs19 crore. Today, the bridge stands as testimony to failed infrastructure. While barely any motorists use it, the few that do drive on the wrong side on the congested Aundh Road to access the bridge, instead of going a few 100m ahead to take a U-turn. A local resident said, “The bridge has had no impact on regulating traffic at the junction. In fact, it has made the situation worse owing wrong-side driving by two- and four-wheelers alike.” Seeking solutions On June 5, Shivajinagar MLA Siddharth Shirole visited the junction, with deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Sandeep Bhajibhakare, additional police commissioner Manoj Patil, other traffic police personnel, PMC anti-encroachment and buildings department officials, and the Aundh ward office team. Shirole spoke to residents and directed officials to manage traffic via alternative routes, clear roads where necessary, enforce ‘no-parking’ zones, take strict action against double parking and deal with abandoned vehicles. While there was police presence at the junction for the next couple of days, it was soon back to square one. MLA Shirole said, “We conducted one round of visits last month to the spot and plan on another one in the next few days. We have decided to hold constant checks and resolve issues in increments to ensure that they stick. Police have been told to submit a plan to shift the Aundh-Sangvi bridge opening for better access, so wrong-side driving can be prevented. The plan is to conduct site visits every 45 days for better management.” Police presence problem Area resident, Lt Col Praveen Srivastava (retd), said, “My house is barely half a km away and it sometimes takes 20 minutes to get home. Officials are not doing much. Police present at the junction are too soft on rule-breakers.” He added, “The traffic signals should not be left on only during peak hours, but throughout the day. Rule-breakers must be caught and fined. Monetary penalty is required. In fact, in the recent past, wrong side driving has increased, mostly to avoid the perennial gridlock at the junction.” Assistant police inspector (traffic) Raj Kendre admitted that the junction needs police presence for better traffic control. “The traffic lights tend to turn off during showers, but we have requested that electric boxes for the wiring be updated, so that they stay rain-proof. However, this issue will be resolved once monsoon ends, even if the boxes are not changed. Now, that the signals are operational at least, motorists should follow them. There are many who break the rules. The junction definitely needs police personnel deployed. I will inform the current traffic in-charge of the area about the same. I was transferred to another division just last week. The traffic signals show the red light for 15 seconds to allow for pedestrian crossing as it is a large junction. There are a lot of senior citizens in the neighbourhood, so the duration is longer. I will also speak to the new officer in-charge to see if CCTVs can be set up at the junction and used to fine rule-breakers, since that is also a major problem here. A lot of signal jumping and wrong-side driving is observed.”
