3 min readPuneMar 30, 2026 10:06 PM IST
A spell of heavy rain accompanied by hailstorms on Monday afternoon threw normal life out of gear across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, triggering traffic congestion on key arterial roads and junctions. Traffic police attributed the traffic jams to water logging at several places and trees and tree branches falling at many locations.
Intense showers led to widespread waterlogging in several low-lying areas, while strong winds caused trees and large branches to fall at multiple locations. Commuters found themselves stuck for long periods as major routes witnessed severe congestion, particularly during peak evening hours. Key junctions across Pune and PCMC were choked as vehicles moved slowly on blocked stretches.
Intense showers led to widespread waterlogging in several low-lying areas, while strong winds caused trees and large branches to fall at multiple locations. (Express Photo By Pavan Khengre)
In response, Traffic police from both commissionerates deployed their entire available force on the roads, including senior officers, to manage the situation. Officials were seen manually regulating traffic at critical bottlenecks because traffic control by signals was causing long queues. In a temporary measure to ease congestion, certain one-way roads were converted into two-way routes, helping clear the backlog of vehicles and restore partial movement.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Nandini Vagyani said, “Our teams were deployed on all major arterial roads, and senior officers were deployed on the ground to supervise traffic management. We implemented temporary measures such as converting select one-way stretches into two-way routes and manually clearing bottlenecks to restore movement. Simultaneously, we coordinated with the fire brigade to remove fallen trees and ensure that blocked roads were reopened at the earliest.”
Ankit Gite, who was stuck at Shahir Amar Shaikh Chowk for over 45 minutes said, “At one point, nothing was moving at all. It took me nearly an hour to cross a stretch that usually takes just 10 to 15 minutes. There were also branches on the road, which made it worse. Even though traffic police were present and trying to manage the situation, the sheer volume of vehicles and the conditions made it very difficult for anyone to move smoothly.”
The fire brigade teams were simultaneously mobilised to respond to incidents of fallen trees and water accumulation. Clearance operations were undertaken to remove obstructions and drain flooded patches, aiding in the gradual normalisation of traffic flow. Between 3 pm and 6 pm, Pune fire brigade responded to 15 calls of trees collapsing in various parts of the city.
