Turning right is a big problem because of faulty position of Hinjewadi flyover, reconstruction may be the only solution to bottlenecks
Five days a week, 29-year-old Vivek Naidu has to sacrifice a part of his daily entertainment, be it his workout in the morning or meeting friends in the evening, all because of traffic delays.
Naidu lives in Pimple Nilakh and travels to Hinjewadi Phase I, where he works with a software company. He spends up to two hours more than he should on the commute â all because of the carelessness of civic officials.
Naidu is just one of the many people, mostly IT professionals, who are caught up in the mess that the "incorrectly" built Hinjewadi flyover has created.
MiD-Day's investigation has revealed that the Rs 6-crore flyover built at Hinjewadi, which was operational in 2007, has to be reconstructed as the original plan was not followed and the position of the flyover is flawed.
After three years of operating it, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the National Highway authorities, who were involved in the construction of the flyover, have realised that the project has only led to increasing bottlenecks at the Hinjewadi junctions and is hampering traffic flow.
A senior official from MIDC, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the decision to reconstruct was reached after MIDC appointed traffic consultants to come up with solutions for the traffics woes in the area.
"The consultants were the ones who came up with the proposal as there was a lot of traffic congestion and right turns have become impossible," the official said, adding that the MIDC and the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) are in talks over plans to further develop the flyover.
PCMC Additional Commissioner Subhash Dumbare confirmed that the civic body was mulling over the possibility of reconstructing the flyover, but refused to elaborate.
Speaking to MiD DAY, Asawari Joshi, deputy project manager, Consultant Engineering Services, who was appointed traffic consultant, said, "We have given MIDC five proposals, including reconstruction, but
the underpasses sound most feasible."
No official was ready to comment on why the location of the flyover was flawed and how such a fundamental mistake was made while executing the project.
Dumbare alleged that the MIDC had built the flyover in a hurry to sell the adjoining area during 2001-2002. "They might have overlooked future problems," he said.
But an MIDC official said, "We didn't anticipate the heavy traffic flow in this area, or that a right turn could create so many problems." | 
