5 months on, Pune Grand Tour roads hold steady

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jun 24, 2026 01:03 AM IST

The Indian Express also travelled a part of the Stage 4 route from Nal Stop to Pune Camp. Majority of the drain covers from Nal Stop and Mhatre bridge onwards are well maintained. With a few having defects. The road from seven loves chowk to Camp had developed some potholes.

Pune spent hundreds of crores of rupees to make 437 km of roads worthy of the Pune Grand Tour, the first UCI 2.2 cycling level event held in India. The race was conducted in January 2026, and the hundreds of international athletes competing in the tournament appreciated the quality of roads that the city presented.

The Indian Express travelled the almost 110 km route of the second stage of the race — from Pune to Purandar to Rajgad to Nanded City — in June to check if the road quality had been maintained.

The most noticeable feature during the roadworks was that drainage lids on roads, usually poorly made resulting in bumps or potholes, were covered flat. In the city region of the route from Kondhwa towards Bapdev Ghat, a fairly busy route, around 80 per cent of the drainage covers were still in pristine condition.

At the Shurveer Yesaji Kamthe Chowk, the roadside has been dug up for underground construction work. The owner of Patel Mutton and Chicken located at the corner said, “We don’t know what this digging work was for. But it has even caused old people to slip and fall.”

District Collector Jitendra Dudi had ensured that no digging would be allowed on these roads, however the conflict after the US-Israel attack on Iran led to gas pipeline digging permissions on many PGT routes. The stretch of Tilak Road towards Swargate is an example of this.

However, some drain covers were showing signs of degradation, with corners chipping away. The immediate covering around the drainage lids was also chipped away in some cases. A series of drains in front of Hotel Nirmal’s Executive showed some signs of degradation.

However, roads in the rural section of the route, sprawling through untouched villages, are still perfect with the stretch of ghat after the villages of Kodit and Narayangaon still staying in good condition. Bougainvillae flowers colour the roads which are surrounded by green fences constructed for the safety of the cyclists. The white and yellow painted roadlines are still visible. The stretch from Karanjwane to Kusgaon is similarly pristine.

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Sunil Bandal from Nigde Budruk, a village on the route, said that before the PGT, the road  was a paved road but had potholes. “Sand mining trucks used to pass from here and the road had degraded due to them. But now they have done a fantastic job during the cycle race.”

Re-entering the city, the cemented road from Sinhagad to Khadakwasla had a noticeable number of cracks. The road from Khadakwasla from Nanded city also showed signs of wear and tear and some drainage boxes had become misaligned.

The Indian Express travelled through a part of the Stage 4 route from Nal Stop to Pune Camp. Majority of the drain covers from Nal Stop and Mhatre bridge onwards are well maintained. With a few having defects. The road from Seven Loves chowk to Camp had developed some potholes.

However, the real test for these roads will come after the monsoon drenches the city. In 2027, the Pune Grand Tour more than doubles in length to 1099 km. If the roads degrade after the monsoon, a huge amount of money will have to be spent on making them international grade again.

Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting.

Professional Background

Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune.

Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics.

Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure.

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories:

1. Investigations & Governance

"Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents.

"44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families.

2. Education & Campus Life

Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University.

"Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial.

"Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers.

3. Human Rights & Social Issues

"Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India.

"'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying.

Signature Style

Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty.

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