Yet, the state of road continues to remain unchanged: no road dividers, no street lights, no traffic signals. And thus it promises to snare one life after another.

The Pune Municipal Corporation claims that it has accorded top priority to improving the road. As part of the plan, it proposes to invite tenders for making it a six lane one. But, this by no means gives the road users the breathing space. Sights like a cyclist bleeding profusely on the potholed road, pedestrians being knocked down by speeding trucks and autorickshaws crashing into the high tension line poles are a regular occurence on the highway stretch.

Four years ago, the Poonawalla Group had embarked on a Rs one crore project for creating a ``model'' road along the 2.8 km stretch from Lohia Garden to Gadital. The group set up a laboratory to test the quality of road materials and invited a consultant from Bahrain to supervise the project. However, the project has apparently stuck in the lackadaisical stand of the PMC.

The only silver lining is in the form of the Save Hadapsar Committee chaired by Zavary Poonawalla. Comprising 16 industrialist members, the committee took the lead in sponsoring 24 traffic wardens to regulate the traffic on the highway. Says Vivek Pradhan, senior manager, Corporate Relations, Poonawalla Group, ``Time and again we have asked the PMC to clear the road of encroachments. But to no avail. The problem is further aggravated by the unruly six seaters and unauthorised passenger jeeps.''

Two wells opposite Vaibhav theatre at the Hadapsar village situated in the middle of the road, the delayed shifting of the octroi post near the Gadital chowk to Manjari and the bottleneck created by the two temples Mahadev mandir, Sauta Mali mandir and a durgah remain the major impeding blocks for the road widening.

S G Navle, deputy city engineer (road), when contacted, said that cases were in court regarding the wells. However, a Rs 1.25 crore estimate has been worked out for widening the road from Fatimanagar to Lohia garden. Navle, however, said that the road department could not initiate any kind of work as the land acquisition department was still in the process of acquiring the land along the stretch.

Manohar Bhate, officer on special duty, PMC, said that the civic body was pursuing the acquisition of certain lands along the stretch. He admitted that the main hurdle was in the gaothan and the area where the temples were located. The PMC, however, has provided alternate land to the temples and durgah and will take stern action against them if they do not expedite the shifting, Bhate warned.

Most of the land along the 5.5 km stretch has been acquired barring some two-km which comprises the land from Bhairoba Nallah to the Christian cemetry. The Pune Cantonment Board has given building permission to the constructions on the stretch and it is not possible for the PMC to conduct acquisition proceedings by giving compensation or FSI as they are four storeyed buildings. While the road opposite ASPT has been widened, Bhate assured that the work will be expedited soon after the rain.