The first basket-shaped bridge in India, namely the Punavale-Ravet Bridge on Pavana river, has turned into a virtual death trap for commuters due to the absence of street lights and sign boards. Perturbed by the high number of mishaps, local residents have been demanding that the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) takes appropriate steps to ensure commuters’ safety. Recently, a techie had died in a mishap on the bridge.

Datta Saikar, an activist of the local unit of Anna Hazare’s front against corruption, has sent a letter to civic chief  Shrikar Pardeshi pointing out that the negligence of the civic administration has been causing frequent accidents.

The bridge was jointly constructed by the public works department (PWD) and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) a few years ago. However, the issue of maintenance of the bridge is yet to be sorted out.

When contacted, PCMC’s joint city engineer (electric department) Pravin Tupe told DNA, “As the bridge was not constructed by the PCMC, its maintenance may be have been overlooked. The absence of street lights is a serious issue and I will probe the matter.”

Tupe promised that he will send a squad to the spot to verify the situation. He also added that street lights had been installed at the time of inauguration of the bridge.

A 26-year-old software engineer from Chinchwad was recently killed after the motorcycle he was riding, skidded on the bridge.Saikar said in his letter that the bridge was a landmark in the twin township but was not maintained by the civic administration. He said that travelling on the bridge was risky and several accidents had taken place at night or early in the morning. He also pointed out that the sign board installed at the time of inauguration of the bridge had also been removed and commuters found it difficult to identify the routes.

Saikar has warned of launching an agitation if the civic administration did not take any steps to improve the situation. The bridge helps people for easy access to the Pune-Mumbai expressway. The bridge also links Ravet with Punavale village. Vehicles coming from the expressway come to Kiwale and cross the bridge before heading to Dange Chowk at Thergaon. From here, they can use the Aundh-Ravet Road to proceed towards the University of Pune. Vehicles from Dange Chowk can also proceed towards Pimpri or Chinchwad and to the old Pune-Mumbai highway.

About The Bridge

This is the first basket bridge in India. It has a single span of 100 metres without supporting pillars. The width of the bridge is 20 metres and it is divided into four lanes. The iron arch is 22 metre tall to support the span. There is a 1.5-metre wide footpath on both sides. The total cost of the project is Rs13.5 crore. Special steel was used in the construction of the bridge and 16 metric ton high tension bars of 76 mm have been used. These bars were imported from UK. The height of the bridge is 33 metres