India, April 30 -- Loading and unloading of water tankers on public roads in Pune's rapidly expanding suburbs such as Mohammadwadi, NIBM Annexe, Undri-Kadnagar and Hadapsar has become a major cause of traffic- congestion and hazards. Serpentine queues of tankers waiting to load or unload water on arterial and internal roads create bottlenecks and dangerous driving conditions; according to residents, commuters, citizens' forums and activists. The situation has worsened with rapid urbanisation coupled with increasing dependence on private water tankers.

There has been a series of fatal water tanker-related accidents in April 2026. On April 5, national-level footballer Aariz Shaikh died after his two-wheeler was hit by a speeding tanker in ...