The shortage of manpower has resulted in frequent traffic congestion, leaving thousands of IT professionals, local residents and business owners stuck on the roads for hours. The situation becomes even more difficult during the monsoon, when waterlogging and road damage add to the delays.
Although traffic police are officially assigned 12-hour shifts, many officers reportedly work for more than 15 hours a day to keep traffic moving across the busy IT corridor.
Officials say the lack of coordination between multiple government agencies, including the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations, PMRDA, MIDC, the National Highways Authority and the Public Works Department, has made the situation worse. As a result, commuters continue to face long delays every day.
Instead of focusing only on traffic management, police personnel are often forced to carry out other civic tasks. These include clearing blocked roadside drains, filling potholes, fixing damaged barricades and pushing broken-down vehicles away from the road to ease congestion.
According to officials, these responsibilities belong to other departments. However, due to delayed action by civic agencies, traffic police have to handle them, affecting their ability to manage traffic efficiently.
The Hinjawadi traffic division currently has one senior inspector, assistant inspectors, sub-inspectors and 24 police personnel, taking the total strength to just 27 officers and staff. Around 30 traffic wardens also assist them, but officials say many motorists do not follow their instructions.
The team is responsible for managing traffic across an area of nearly 20 to 25 kilometres, including more than 35 major junctions and stretches of highway. With several IT companies operating in different shifts, traffic movement continues throughout the day and night.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vikrant Deshmukh said the heavy volume of vehicles has significantly increased the workload on traffic personnel. He added that five additional traffic wardens have already been deployed, and more police staff will be assigned soon to improve traffic management in the area.
Residents and daily commuters believe that increasing manpower, improving coordination between departments and completing pending infrastructure works are essential to reduce congestion and improve travel conditions in Hinjawadi.
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I’m Priya Agarwal, and I write about everything related to Hinjewadi! From the latest news and events to hidden spots and local businesses, my articles are all about helping you explore and enjoy this vibrant area. Whether you live here or are just visiting, I aim to bring you useful, interesting, and up-to-date information about Hinjewadi. Stay tuned for more!
