A Mumbai-bound container got trapped in the grade separator at Pimpri yesterday at around 4 am and traffic had to be diverted on the busy Pune-Mumbai highway from Kharalwadi to Nashik Phata for six hours till the vehicle was removed by two cranes.
Pimpri traffic police sent a letter to Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dr Shrikar Pardeshi asking him to take steps to avoid accidents near the grade separator.
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In the middle: A container got stuck in a grade separator on Pune-Mumbai highway yesterday, stalling traffic for six hours. Pic/Krunal Gosavi
Police inspector PD Garad said, “The container driver was headed towards Mumbai and was using the grade separator for the first time. We have taken action against the driver under the section 208 of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act and fined him Rs 5,000 for obstructing traffic. Two officers and ten constables cleared traffic. ”
“We have asked the PCMC to install a sturdy barrier at a height of 4.5 metres and also put blinkers on it. Also signboards will soon be installed at various locations to warn drivers about the grade separator.
This is to prevent serious accidents,” Garad said. The Pimpri grade separator was inaugurated on January 1, 2007 to ensure uninterrupted vehicular traffic. Atul Gunjal, a resident of Pimpri, said, “The height of the grade separator is low. Traffic jams are frequent here.” Also, near Kharalwadi, a luxury bus coming to Pune from Mumbai got ‘locked’ due to some mechanical glitch and vehicles piled up. However, no one was injured. u00a0
Past tense
>> A police jeep rammed into a CRPF van under the Pimpri grade separator on May 1, 2013.
>>u00a0In an attempt to avoid potholes, three vehicles collided against each other in October 2012. A similar accident occurred in June 2010.
>>u00a0In 2009-10, the grade separator witnessed over 45 accidents. u00a0
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