Pune: On Sept 2, 2025, a truck hit two bikers on Handewadi Road at 9.45am, killing both. Less than a month before that, on Aug 12, an 11-year-old girl died in Hinjewadi Phase II when a heavy vehicle hit the scooter on which she was riding pillion. Days prior, a 25-year-old biker was fatally hit by a dumper on the Nagar Highway near Kharadi around 11.40pm on Aug 10. On July 30, a 33-year-old resident of Punawale succumbed to her injuries after she came under the wheels of a dumper on her way home at 2.30pm. On June 30, a 37-year-old gym employee lost her leg after a dumper ran over it.Day or night, come rain or shine, there is no end to the dangers and nuisance posed by heavy vehicles in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad limits. Every now and then — often just after an accident — police announce bans on their movement. However, despite the norms, ready-mix concrete trucks and other heavy vehicles have free rein of the city. Not only do heavy vehicles cause accidents, most fatal, every other week, but they also hinder traffic, especially in peak hours and densely populated areas. Residents have sought urgent, improved measures and stricter law enforcement.High congestion, rash drivingPunawale resident Shubham Kandale said that despite raising the issue multiple times, the problem persists. “These vehicles, particularly those involved in carrying construction material, are spotted even during prohibited hours. The service roads along the Pune-Bengaluru highway and access roads to Punawale are always full of heavy vehicles. They not only cause congestion, but also damage roads, even the recently repaired ones,” the IT professional said. An underpass below the highway is the only connecting point for Punawale residents to travel to the rest of the city. “This underpass is already jam-packed, and citizens have to wait for hours with the existing load of light vehicles. Heavy vehicles worsen this congestion,” he added. The situation is not very different in neighbouring Hinjewadi. Besides the child who succumbed to an accident in Aug, two BCA students also lost their lives in a similar way on Hinjewadi-Maan Road in Jan this year. Both accidents sparked major protests.This prompted the traffic police to begin registering legal cases under Section 105 (culpable homicide) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in cases involving heavy vehicles. In Aug alone, at least two such cases were registered by Pimpri Chinchwad police. Residents, however, pointed out that the ban on heavy vehicles just remains on paper. Pradip Awati, the president of Hinjewadi Employees’ Welfare Association, said, “The drivers of heavy vehicles always drive rashly, making it unsafe for other commuters. There are some new projects ongoing around the IT park, due to which the movement of cement mixers is more on some routes, like those towards Maan Road and behind Megapolis housing society or in Phase III.” Creating a dangerous mess on roads Karim Shaikh, a resident of Wadgaon Sheri, said heavy vehicles plying on Pune-Ahilyanagar road are often overloaded with sand, which spills out. “The spilled material makes the surface slippery, leading to frequent accidents. I have witnessed several such mishaps, yet neither the police nor the authorities seem to be taking the issue seriously,” he said. Debris or mud left behind on the road by heavy vehicles leaving or going to construction sites are a concern for pedestrians, too, as Tarabaug resident Col Dipak Malakar (retd) found out this year. He slipped and injured himself twice in 2025, he told TOI. “The repair work done by the civic body is already poor. On top of that, the construction boom in the city has resulted in constant heavy vehicle movement round the clock. When these vehicles leave a construction site, there’s a lot of spillage, and a lot of the material that must be inside the vehicle is on the road. They also bring the mud from the site to the main road, inconveniencing everyone,” said Malakar, who has lived in Pune since 2005 and in Tarabaug for about six years. “Pune is no longer the city I chose to live in after retiring from the Army. It is still beautiful, but traffic, unruly behaviour and citizen apathy is lowering quality of life,” he added. Several residents also said that often, heavy vehicles don’t have a number plate or it is caked with mud, preventing reporting against rash drivers. How do we build, ask developersBut local industrialists voiced objections to a heavy vehicle ban, stating that it causes delays in raw material deliveries and disrupts production. Sandeep Belsare, president of the Pimpri Chinchwad Small Industries’ Association, said the decision is impacting the city’s overall business and was made without consulting industry representatives. “We get only a few hours when heavy vehicles are allowed to operate, and we struggle to dispatch or unload our material, affecting our production,” he said. Belsare added that in the absence of dedicated truck terminals, drivers are also left to suffer on roads. Though some heavy vehicles are involved in road accidents and fatalities, banning them straight away won’t help, said Sanjay Deshpande, convener for police for Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai) Pune. “It’s not just about the construction industry, but also water tankers and trucks carrying other material that would get affected. You can’t just make them wait outside city limits the whole day. Different stakeholders need to get together and form a policy in this regard,” Deshpande said. “It is also important to conduct awareness among two-wheeler riders, many of whom drive recklessly and constantly break signals in the city. Training heavy vehicle drivers is also important, and Credai is happy to help with that. Anything that you ban straight away does not work. Lack of discipline will continue to be a problem. Holding just one section of motorists responsible is not right. We need a holistic solution,” he added._______________Multitude of Issues for ResidentsConstruction material spilling out of heavy vehicles adds to existing risk on roads. During the monsoon, this dust makes the roads slippery as mud is formed whenever it rains. At other times, dust in the air makes it difficult for motorists to navigate the roads. Heavy vehicles don’t follow pollution norms either —Vitthal Baral | Tathawade Resident_______________There is ongoing construction in every nook and corner of Prabhat Road and Bhandarkar Road today. While development is important, I wonder if it is being done keeping in mind available infrastructure in the given areas. Heavy vehicles are constantly plying on narrow roads and are a headache for locals —Sandip Parmar | Businessman_______________Whether one is in a four-wheeler or on a bike, commuting has become a nightmare, especially in areas like Range Hills, Aundh Road and even on Prabhat Road. While one is in a rush to get to work, we are forced into traffic jams owing to heavy vehicles plying in the fast lane or because they are parked haphazadly. Urgent action is needed —Amit Das | IT Professional_______________What police sayWe are taking strict action and even imposing fines against those violating norms. Now, we have also started registering legal cases against the defaulters. In case of death due to an accident, non-bailable sections like BNS 105 are also invoked and the violators are arrested — Vivek Patil | Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) Pimpri Chinchwad Police_______________Citizens are misguided on the fact that a ban means a complete shutdown of heavy vehicle movement. Some vehicles have permits to ply on the streets because they are involved in important projects like say construction of a hospital, which has a shorter deadline. However, largely speaking, heavy vehicles are not allowed within city limits and in residential areas during peak hours. We have been conducting continuous drives to ensure no one flouts the norms. Cases have also been registered against those involved in accidents — Himmat Jadhav | Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) Pune City Police





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