“I had the most horrible day of my life. I had to push my bike for more than 3 kilometers before I finally came across a petrol pump. I was left panting, struggling for breathe and with cramps in my body,” remembers Shalini De, an advertising executive working at a private firm located on Pune–Mumbai highway (NH 4) near Bavdhan. The scenario is a pretty common one and sight of commuters dragging their bikes in search of a petrol pump to set their bike’s wheels rolling, is nothing new for residents on Pune Mumbai highway.
It is really a sad state of affair that on a busy Pune–Mumbai highway, there’s a dearth of petrol pumps. Even if you take the Sus–Pashan link road, one can find no sight of a filling station for long kilometers on a stretch. If you miss the petrol pump at Chandni Chowk, and your bike’s petrol suddenly finishes, then you can re-fill it only at Wakad, which is many kilometers away from Chandni Chowk. Furthermore, if you intend to travel to Aundh via Sus–Pashan link road, then you can find a petrol pump not before you reach Baner, again a place quite far from Chandni Chowk. And God forbid, if your bike shuts somewhere after Baner, then you have to painfully push your bike all the way to the interiors of Aundh or till the University circle.
“I still remember the day when my bike suddenly stopped on the Pune–Mumbai highway near Hinjewadi. And it happened during the summer season. I was tired and the heat made it almost impossible for me to drag my bike till the next petrol pump, which was obviously a mile away. Thankfully, a cop saw me struggling with my vehicle and offered me help. He gave me some petrol from his own bike and then only I could drive off to reach my home safely, but not before I was left completely exhausted and hassled,” recounts Namitha Shukla, a resident of Dange Chowk.
“I don’t think the concerned authorities are not aware of the fact that there’s a need of more petrol pumps on the Pune–Mumbai highway. Either they are acting callous, or simply waiting for some fat bribe before finally signing on the approval certificate to construct another filling station. I hope that the situation is taken care of by the government authorities and the matter is resolved immediately,” said a city-based activist.
- Siddhartha Laik
