One monsoon, many fault lines: How heavy rains exposed Pune’s infrastructure gaps

PUNE: The city witnessed a delayed monsoon this year, which meant the civic body had an extra month to prepare for the monsoon. Yet when the rains finally arrived, Pune once again found itself overwhelmed.Roads disappeared under water, transport links snapped, newly built infrastructure came under scrutiny, trees crashed onto roads and a garbage mound collapse claimed lives.What unfolded during the first week of July was not merely the story of an unusually intense spell of rain. It became a citywide stress test that exposed long-standing weaknesses in urban planning, infrastructure and disaster preparedness.By July 8, Pune's Shivajinagar observatory had recorded 393.9mm of rainfall since the beginning of the month, marking the wettest opening week of July in 57 years.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city had not witnessed such a heavy spell since 1969.