India, Aug. 11 -- In a bid to decongest roads and improve public safety, the Pune traffic police in coordination with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken off city roads more than 5,000 abandoned vehicles over the past six months even as bottlenecks continue on many stretches. Of the more than 5,000 vehicles, over 1,000 abandoned vehicles have been taken off the roads in the past 15 days alone, senior police officials claimed. The drive targets derelict and unattended vehicles-many of them left at the same spot for months-across residential colonies, commercial hubs, and narrow internal lanes. Officials said such vehicles often cause logjams and pose safety risks.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Himmat Jadhav said, "We ...