Anger over traffic congestion and poor infrastructure in the Chakan industrial region erupted into a massive protest on Thursday, as residents, daily commuters, and industrial stakeholders joined a morcha from Chakan to the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) office in Akurdi. Organised under the Chakan Kruti Samiti, the agitation is aimed at pressurising the authorities to take immediate steps to resolve the worsening traffic mess and expedite the long-pending road development works in the area.
MP Dr Amol Kolhe, former MP Shivaji Adhalrao Patil, and members of Chakan Kruti Samiti, including Kunal Kad, led the protest. Several industry owners, employees, and villagers joined the morcha, which was met with tight police security along the route to Akurdi. Despite multiple reviews and visits by senior government officials, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, locals say there has been little improvement on the ground.
Daily traffic snarls, narrow roads, and incomplete infrastructure have become a daily ordeal for thousands of workers, transporters, and residents travelling through the Chakan-Pimpri-Chinchwad-Talegaon corridor. Kad said, “Samiti seeks urgent government intervention to resolve long-pending issues that have crippled daily movement in and around Chakan.”
Commuters say that even short distances now take hours to cover, leading to loss of productivity, salary deductions, and mounting losses for industries due to delayed movement of raw materials and finished goods.
PMRDA chief meets agitators
Following their march to the PMRDA office, Commissioner Dr Yogesh Mhase on Thursday met with the protesters and briefed them about the ongoing and planned development initiatives.
Speaking to mid-day, Adhalrao Patil said, “There is an urgent need to implement a comprehensive traffic mobility plan for Chakan, Talegaon, Shikrapur, and Shirur. Over the years, authorities granted permissions blindly without creating adequate infrastructure. Decades have passed, but land acquisition and road development have not progressed.”
Despite repeated assurances, residents and industry leaders remain sceptical, citing slow progress on sanctioned projects. Protesters have now demanded visible, time-bound action instead of mere approvals and plans.
Major projects in line
Responding to the agitation, PMRDA officials said that several major road and connectivity projects worth Rs 558.12 crore have received administrative approval and are being implemented as a priority. As per the PMRDA data, a total of 40.74 km of road infrastructure has been sanctioned across the Chakan region to improve connectivity and ease congestion.
Key works include road upgrades from Charholi Khurd to Alandi via Markal, Nigoje to Chakan MIDC, and Khalumbre to MIDC Phase II — collectively spanning over 17 km with an investment of around R100 crore. In addition, major links such as the Talegaon-Chakan Highway to the Volkswagen plant, the SANY Company-Samruddhi CNG Pump stretch, the Medankarwadi-Rase Phata road, and the proposed Western Bypass have been sanctioned under the land acquisition phase, amounting to over Rs 261 crore.
“These works, now at various stages of land acquisition and execution, are being prioritised to reduce traffic pressure and strengthen connectivity between major industrial zones and highways,” PMRDA Commissioner Mhase said. Alongside road development, the administration has also initiated large-scale anti-encroachment drives across Chakan to remove illegal constructions obstructing traffic and delaying expansion. According to officials, a total of 428 illegal structures, including 347 unauthorised buildings and 81 hoardings, have been demolished so far.
PMRDA lacks vision
Lok Sabha MP Kolhe criticised the PMRDA for its lack of long-term vision. Speaking to mid-day, he said, “PMRDA is the planning authority but lacks understanding of a uniform and comprehensive traffic mobility plan. It keeps granting building permissions without addressing the root infrastructure issues. The plans shown in meetings are inadequate, and I fear progress may stall once the code of conduct comes into effect.”
Residents now await concrete on-ground results, warning that without decisive and sustained action, the traffic crisis could deepen — affecting daily commuters and choking one of Maharashtra’s most vital industrial corridors.
