Popular for its vibrant Ganeshotsav celebrations, Pune draws devotees from the city, its outskirts and from across the state in lakhs each year. An old adage goes, the more the merrier, but that may not be the case this year, as there are concerns that the crowds may increase the chances of a rise in swine flu cases in the city.

However, even with reports of recent swine flu (H1N1) virus-affected patients, the Pune Municipal Corporation has not put any precautionary measures in place to prevent a larger outbreak. While PMC officials acknowledge that the possibility of an increase in cases is very real, Acting Chief Medical Officer for the PMC, Dr S T Pardeshi, offers bewildering logic to explain their inaction. “The patients reported to be affected by swine flu are not residents of Pune city, but have come from outside areas.