The tough one..

A chaotic mess

Kalyani Nagar with its shopping malls like Lifestyle and multiplexes like Gold Adlabs is fast becoming the city’s favourite destination after Koregaon Park. But thanks to a broken divider in front of Gold Adlabs, commuters are having a harrowing time at the crossing

Aditi Thirani Kalyaninagar

It is fast becoming the new "Happening Pune". Kalyani Nagar with its state of the art showrooms and shopping malls like Lifestyle and multiplexes like Gold Adlabs has become the city’s favourite destination after Koregaon Park. Not only is it catching up with youngsters, the area has also become the haunt of those looking for apartments in upmarket Pune.

But despite everything going in its favour, traffic at the intersection around Lifestyle and Gold Adlabs at one end and the restaurant Kalyani at the other is chaotic in the morning and evenings when congestion is at its peak. Residents commuting to office in the morning have to go through the harrowing experience of seeing motorists cutting across from all corners while negotiating the half constructed divider bang in front of Gold Adlabs.

The divider which seems to be getting smaller by the day, has turned into a traffic hazard, giving motorists the leeway to cut across its broken stretches while taking a U-turn at Gold Adlabs. It’s not only residents who have to put up with the chaotic traffic. Those having their offices near the traffic intersection too face a similar experience.

The problem is compounded as traffic along the stretch includes moviegoers who come to buy advance show tickets. "During the day the intersection is calm. It’s at night when the both the malls — Lifestyle and Gold Adlabs — start filling up that the problem begins. Cars, rickshaws and two-wheelers compete with each other to cross the traffic light at the intersection. Construction around the area ensures that heavy vehicles like trucks clog up the small road, choc-o-bloc with rush-hour traffic," says Anu Sundaresam, who lives in one of the swanky highrises in the area. There is obviously going to be no respite in the area unless the divider is constructed properly. Security in charge of GoldAdlabs Sanjay says, "The white stands you see along the divider have been put up by us and not the Pune Municipal Corporation. If we had not put them up, problems would have compounded."

The chaos reaches a peak on Fridays and Saturdays when office-goers have to jostle with shoppers to negotiate the intersection. The signal at the crossing too has lately become unpredictable and stops working when it is needed the most - during peak hours. "Most jams are caused by trucks carrying sand and construction material trying to cut across through the broken divider. At night, when I come home from office, it is a nightmare. I have to be very careful while driving along the Adlabs road, lest I bang into someone or another car hits my vehicle from behind. And in all this if the signal stops functioning, there is chaos as I end up getting stuck there for another 45 minutes," says Sandeep, a resident of the area.

It’s not that traffic cannot be managed along this stretch. It is the divider that is causing all the confusion, say commuters. "The problem starts when people take U-turns, cutting across the broken divider. The gap is so wide that big vehicles too can pass through easily. Those who break the rules muscle their way across traffic and get out of the jam in no time. It is people like us, the ones who follow rules, that end up waiting the longest," adds Sandeep.