Pune truck accident: NHAI blames civic bodies for lack of service roads on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway

Two days after the Navale bridge accident, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), which has drawn fire from all quarters, Tuesday passed the buck on to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). NHAI officials said the civic bodies have failed to set up proper service roads on both sides of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway. They added the highway has become a “choke point”, spawning jams throughout its length.

From Ravet in Pimpri-Chinchwad to Katraj in PMC limits, the highway runs for 32 kilometre. “Service roads are available but there is no continuity. In the absence of service roads, local traffic is occupying the highway in a big way.