As many as 51 traffic signals within the Pune Police Commissionerate limits stopped working around 8 am on Friday, 9 October, during the ongoing installation and updating of new prepaid electricity meters, according to information shared by Pune City Police.
The disruption affected traffic signals at multiple locations across the commissionerate area. Pune City Police said officials contacted a junior engineer from the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Electrical Department, identified as Murmure, to determine why the signals had stopped functioning.
According to the explanation shared by the engineer, new prepaid electricity meters are being installed and related updating work is under way. Some traffic signals stopped working because of an issue during this process, the police communication said.
The incident places the reliability of electricity-dependent traffic infrastructure at the centre of an operational disruption across Pune. Traffic signals are managed as part of the city’s junction-control system, and a simultaneous failure at 51 locations can affect how intersections are regulated across the police commissionerate limits. The information available, however, does not specify whether the signals failed at adjacent junctions or at locations spread across the city.
Pune City Police did not identify the affected junctions in its communication. It also did not provide a precise timeline for restoration, leaving the status of individual signals unclear at the time of the report. The police said efforts were being made to restore the affected systems.
The disruption occurred while the PMC was carrying out work connected with prepaid electricity meters. The available information does not state whether the meter installation was planned to take place simultaneously at the affected signal locations, or whether the issue involved power supply, meter updating or another part of the installation process. No further technical details were provided.
The incident also highlights the need for clear operational communication when essential street infrastructure is affected by utility work. In this case, the police identified the broad cause and confirmed that restoration efforts were under way, but did not release a location-wise list or an estimated completion time.
Further updates from Pune City Police or the Pune Municipal Corporation are expected to clarify which junctions were affected and when normal signal operations will resume.
