12 hours ago
CM calls for extra caution at 500 unsafe spots in dist in monsoon
Pune: Chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis
on Monday said around 500 spots in the district were vulnerable during the monsoon season and instructed the Pune collector to take extra precautions there to avoid accidents, a day after a bridge on the Indrayani river collapsed in Talegaon Dabhade's Kund Mala.
"Not all these 500 places have bridges. Some of them are places where the water level rises and in some places, there is a lot of force to the water during the monsoon. All these places have been notified by the collector as dangerous spots for visitors," Fadnavis said.
Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi on Monday said financial assistance of Rs5 lakh would be provided to the family of each of the four victims of the bridge collapse in Kund Mala and structural audit of all old bridges would be conducted.
He said those found fragile would be dismantled or cordoned off. "All departments have been directed to carry out a fresh structural audit of old bridges," he said.
Chief minister Fadnavis said, "The bridge on the Indrayani River at Kund Mala was dangerous for use. The Pune district collector had issued a notification regarding it. The bridge was closed and villagers had also put up signboards, warning people that it was not for use.
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It seems that tourists did not realise how fragile the bridge was. Therefore, they might have stood on it and it collapsed."
He said there was a lesson to be learned from the incident. "At some of the notified places, the administration deploys a police force and in some locations it takes help from local villagers. Sunday's incident shows us that we need to be more vigilant at all such places. We all need to make collective efforts to prioritise safety," Fadnavis said.
Dudi said, "There are over 500 tourist locations in Pune district. We can only urge tourists to avoid potentially dangerous spots."
He clarified that the public advisory issued last week urging residents to refrain from visiting vulnerable areas applied to all tourist spots across the district, not just Maval and Lonavla regions. Dudi said a decision on if a fresh directive was required would be taken after a comprehensive review meeting on Tuesday.
As the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Dudi constituted an official inquiry committee to investigate the bridge collapse in detail. The panel comprises additional collector, forest officer, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch), superintendent engineers of the public works department (PWD) and the irrigation department, and the resident deputy collector.
Chief secretary Sujata Saunik chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the situation.
Senior officials, including additional chief secretary, principal secretary, rural development (roads) secretary, divisional commissioner of Pune, Pune district collector, CEO of Zilla Parishad, PWD officials and Pune superintendent of police attended it. Some of the officers attended the meeting virtually.
