Torrential showers turned Hinjawadi IT Park into a virtual water park on Thursday. Several arterial roads were submerged, and traffic came to a standstill. The chaos unfolded even as the annual Palakhi procession began its journey through the rain-soaked streets of Pune. The Hinjawadi IT crowd was stalled in traffic. Roads turned into rivers, severely hampering the movement of vehicles and office-goers. In response, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) have launched urgent remedial measures.

A high-level meeting, chaired by PMRDA Commissioner Dr Yogesh Mhase, was held to coordinate efforts. Key officials, including Additional Metropolitan Commissioner Deepak Singla, MIDC Joint CEO Vijay Rathod, and PMRDA Chief Engineers Rinaz Pathan and Nitin Wankhede, are supervising the work. SD Sanap, senior scientist at IMD, told mid-day, “The Pune city area has been issued a yellow alert only, but the ghat sections have received a red alert for Thursday. The situation may return to normal from Friday onwards.”

PMRDA in action mode