The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has requested repairs be made to the damaged road below the Dapodi to Pimpri metro line 1 from the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro), citing numerous complaints about the road's accidents, traffic congestion, and inconvenience to commuters.

The PCMC commissioner, Shekhar Singh, wrote to the Maha-Metro on April 26 to request that it fix the road that runs beneath the Dapodi to Pimpri metro line 1 and cover the associated costs. The recovery from the PCMC's contribution to Maha-Metro, Singh said, could be the other option.

“It is an obligation on the part of the Maha Metro to carry out repairs of the damaged concrete road below the metro line along with other activities. Unfortunately, the same has not been taken up by the Maha-Metro. It has been observed that since the execution of the overhead metro line, the road below has not been reinstated, which has resulted in inconvenience to commuters. This has led to slow traffic, congestion and accidents. The PCMC has been receiving continuous complaints ever since from citizens on various platforms,” the letter said.

The PCMC has asked Maha-Metro to repair the damaged bituminous top; speed up the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) railing work; and replace damaged pavement quality concrete (PQC) panels among others.

Bapu Gaikwad, Executive Engineer, Civil Engineering Department, PCMC, said that the PCMC has carried out reconstruction of the road in the BRT lane but resurfacing of the service road at various locations is pending and has to be carried out by the Maha-Metro. PCMC has asked Maha Metro to reinstall the height restrictor, signboards and gantry structures on the stretch. PCMC has also asked to reinstall concrete beams for the entry-exit to the main road from the service roads.

The PCMC has further emphasised the necessity for Maha-Metro to handle all road beautification tasks. The PCMC has emphasised that the Nigdi-Dapodi road is its spine and that the corporation attaches the highest priority to its restoration and beautification.

Hemant Sonawane, General Manager, Public Relations, Maha-Metro, said that the repair and restoration of the PCMC will be carried out once the work is completed. If the restoration is carried out before the completion of work, there is a possibility of the road and other infrastructure getting damaged again. The work is in its final stage after which total restoration along this route will be carried out. As a safety measure, they have put up barricades and caution boards for the public.

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