Schools and colleges in Shivajinagar, Kasba Peth and adjoining areas of the city centre, Dhole Patil Road, Aundh, Baner, Sinhagad Road, Kothrud, Bavdhan, Warje Malwadi and Karve Nagar area in Pune would remain closed on January 19 due to road closures for the prologue of the “Pune Grand Tour 2026” cycle race.
Pune District collector Jitendra Dudi issued an order in this regard on Saturday. The order was issued following a request made by the traffic control wing of Pune city police to the Pune district collector.
As stated in the order, the international cycle race “Pune Grand Tour 2026” will be held in Pune from January 19 to 24, 2025. Additionally, the prologue of the PuneGrand Tour, which is an 8-kilometer Individual Time Trial (ITT) competition, starting from Goodluck chowk on FC Road and ending at Deccan Bus Stand on JM Road, will be held on January 19.
For this purpose, FC Road, JM Road, University Road and the internal routes that connect these roads in the city would be closed to traffic and other operations, from 9 am to 6 pm on January 19.
So, to avoid inconvenience to students and residents of the area, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Himmat Jadhav on Saturday handed over a letter requesting the Pune District Collector to announce closure of schools and colleges in the jurisdictions of PMC’s Chhatrapati Shivajinagar Ghole Road, Vishrambaug Wada – Kasba, Dhole Patil Road, Bhavani Peth, Aundh, Baner, Sinhagad Road, Kothrud. Bavdhan, Warje – Karve Nagar District Offices on January 19. The application was approved by the district collector.
Organized by the Pune district administration in association with the Cycling Federation of India (CFI), the Pune Grand Tour 2026 is the first-of-its-kind UCI 2.2 cycling race on a 437-kilometre track, divided into four stages, from January 19 to 24. The Pune Grand Tour 2026 will see the participation of 171 riders, including 12 from India. It will also feature teams from 35 countries, including Holland, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria and Australia.