About Pune
Pune is a city located in the western Indian
state of Maharashtra. Capital of Pune District and the 8th largest
urban agglomeration in India with a population of 5 million, it is
the second largest city in the state of Maharashtra. It is located
roughly 150 kilometers east of Mumbai at an altitude of 560 meters
above sea level. It is situated at the eastern edge of the Western
ghats on the Deccan plateau.
Pune is widely considered the education capital of Maharashtra. Pune
has several reputed colleges and other educational institutions -
for this reason it is called the Oxford of the East (or 'Oxford of
India'). It has a very strong presence in the automobile sector and
is on its way to consolidate its position as the 'Detroit of India'
too. It is now home to many software and IT companies.It is also
called as "Queen of Deccan".
Climate
Pune has a tropical wet and dry climate with
average temperatures ranging between 23°C to 28°C. Pune experiences
three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Typical summer
months are from March to May, with maximum temperatures ranging from
30 to 38 °C (85 to 100 °F). Contrary to most of the Deccan Plateau
where May is the warmest month, the warmest month in Pune is April.
The city often receives locally developed heavy thundershowers with
sharp downpours in May. Though the temperatures plunge in this
month, the summer heat accompanied by high humidity can be
occasionally quite oppressive. Nevertheless, the nights in Pune are
significantly cooler compared to most other parts in this region
owing to its high altitude.
Monsoon winds blowing from the Arabian sea are a welcome relief in
June, bringing with them heavy showers. Pune receives moderate
rainfall. The city receives an annual rainfall of 722 mm, mainly
between June and September as the result of southwest monsoon. July
is the wettest month of the year. Though the rainfall is
comparatively lower than in the adjoining Western ghats, steady
spells of heavy rain sometimes disrupt normal life in the city. The
spells of continuous rainfall may stretch to many days or even a few
weeks. Pune has, on record, received rainfall for 29 consecutive
days (Days when rainfall is greater than 2.5 mm). However, the
weather is very pleasant in the city even during the monsoons with
temperature ranging from 10 to 28 °C (50 to 82 °F) and cool pleasant
winds blowing in from the west.
As the monsoon winds recede, the day temperatures rise again in
October with cooler nights signalling the onset of winter. Pune
experiences winter from November to February. This is the best
season to visit Pune. Pleasant windy days, clear skies and cool
nights make it the most enjoyable time of the year. The day
temperature hovers around 28 °C (83 °F) while night temperature is
below 10 °C (50 °F) for most of December and January, often dropping
to 5 or 6 °C (42 °F). On particularly cold days, wind may appear to
be very chilly due to the dryness of air. Rain is very rare in this
season.
Temperature records: The highest temperature recorded was 110 °F
(43.3 °C) on 30 April 1987 and 7 May 1889. The lowest temperature
recorded during 1881-1940 was 35 °F (1.7 °C) in 17 January 1935.
More recently, Pune recorded a lowest temperature of 2.8 °C on
January 1991.
Civic Administration
Pune Urban Agglomeration comprises 5 civic bodies, namely
* Pune Municipal Corporation
* Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)
* Khadki (Also called Kirkee) Cantonment Board (KCB)
* Pune Cantonment Board (PCB)
* Dehu Road Cantonment Board
The main city is administered by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The executive power of the corporation is vested in the Municipal
Commissioner, an IAS officer appointed by the state government. The
corporation consists of directly elected corporators headed by a
titular Mayor. The mayor has few executive powers. The PMC is in
charge of the civic needs and infrastructure of the metropolis. Pune
is divided into forty-eight municipal wards, each overseen by an
Assistant Municipal Commissioner for administrative purposes. The
corporators of the administration are voted through a popular vote
and almost all the state political parties field their candidates.
The city is in the Haveli Taluka (county) in Pune District,
Maharashtra. The district is under the jurisdiction of the District
Collector. The collectors are in charge of property records and
revenue collection for the Central government. They also oversee the
national elections held in the city.
Like other metropolises in India, the Pune Police is headed by a
Police Commissioner, an IPS officer. The Pune Police comes under the
state Home Ministry.
Demographics
The urban agglomeration around Pune has a population of 5,050,000 in
2008. This figure includes the population of the city of
Pimpri-Chinchwad, which is the industrial twin of Pune. Of late, the
city has witnessed a sizeable investment in the software and
automobile sectors, resulting in an influx of skilled labor from all
over India.
The areas under Pune City (PMC), PCB (Pune Cantonment Board) and KCB
(Khadki Cantonment Board) have a combined population of 3.6 million
as of 2008. The areas under Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC) and DCB (Dehu
Road Cantonment Board) have a combined population of 1.4 million.
Several suburbs are now completely cosmopolitan and real-estate
prices have soared since 2003. Notably, even though Pune is the
seventh largest city in India, it has the sixth largest metropolitan
economy and the highest per capita income in India, with the least
income disparity between the rich and poor.
Marathi is the major language in Pune. English is understood and
spoken by the educated class. Hindi is also widely understood and
spoken.
Transport
Pune is well-connected by road, rail, and air to most major cities
in India such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata,
Ahmedabad, Indore, Lucknow and Chennai. Pune Airport is an
international hub with flights connecting to Singapore(discontinued)
and Dubai.
There are three arterial roads passing through the Pune Metropolitan
Region (PMR). All the three are highway-style roads. A series of
flyovers and underpasses have been built on these highways. All the
three highways are of four lanes (2 up-2 down, excluding service
lane). First is the Old Pune-Mumbai Highway, which starts at Nigdi
and ends at Shivaji Nagar. The second is the Western Bypass Highway,
which starts at Dehu Road and ends at Katraj, skirting the city from
its western border. The third one starts at Aundh and links to the
Old Pune-Mumbai Highway at Shivaji Nagar and then runs along Bund
Garden and ends at the north-eastern border of the city, later
forming Pune-Ahmednagar State Highway. There are three National
Highways and one Expressway connecting the city to the other major
cities of the country:
a. National Highway-4 (NH-4) (Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore-Chennai)
b. National Highway-9 (NH-9) (Pune-Hyderabad)
c. National Highway-50 (NH-50) (Pune-Nasik)
d. Expressway (Mumbai-Pune)
The Government of Maharashtra has entrusted responsibility for
creating a new Pune International Airport project to MIDC. The area
between Chakan and Rajgurunagar, around the villages of Chandus and
Shiroli, is currently under consideration as a site for the airport,
situated 40 km from Pune GPO along the Pune - Nashik National
highway (NH-50).
The city has two railway stations, Pune and Shivajinagar. Local
trains connect Pune to the industrial towns of Khadki, Pimpri and
Chinchwad, and Lonavala. A new broad gauge line between Karjat and
Panvel has shortened the distance between Pune and Mumbai by 30
Kilometers. Road travel between Pune and Mumbai has improved
significantly with the construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway
Inter-city luxury buses, both state owned and private ones, also
connect Pune with major cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The Maharashtra state transport buses facilitate travel to rural
areas surrounding Pune.
Public Transport
PMPML[PUNE MAHANAGAR PARIVAHAN MAHAMANDAL LIMITED] has bus routes
throughout the city and its suburbs. The PMPML is running a pilot
project for buses with dedicated lanes, called Pune Bus Rapid
Transit. Pune has a Light Rail/ SkyBus /Light Metro Rail proposal
for implementation on both Pune Municipal Corporation, PCMC and
MSRDC plans.
Within the city, auto rickshaw is the common mode of taxi transport.
Air-conditioned blue-and-white "cool cabs" operate on pre-paid fare
basis between Pune and Mumbai. (These are likely to be found only at
Pune Airport and Pune Railway Station.)
Private Transport
The public transport infrastructure is currently highly strained. Thus the number of personal cars and 2-wheelers in the city is staggering. According to one study in 2007, there were then 400,000 cars and 1.6 million two-wheelers in the Pune urban agglomeration. More than 200,000 vehicles are added to the traffic in Pune every year.
The most used routes from Pune are Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Nasik, Ahmedabad, Shirdi, Kolhapur and Goa. Buses leave for Mumbai
every 15 minutes from the Pune station. This is one of the most-used
boarding points because of the availability of choice. Tickets can
either be purchased from a travel agent in the cityThe most used routes from Pune are Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Nasik, Ahmedabad, Shirdi, Kolhapur and Goa. Buses leave for Mumbai
every 15 minutes from the Pune station. This is one of the most-used
boarding points because of the availability of choice. Tickets can
either be purchased from a travel agent in the city.