E-Paper
PMC officers refuse to board Swargate-Hadapsar BRTS corridor
PUNE Officers are mum on the closed Bus rapid transit (BRTS) corridor running from Swargate to Hadapsar.
PUNE Officers are mum on the closed Bus rapid transit (BRTS) corridor running from Swargate to Hadapsar.
Despite demand from the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) to open the BRTS route, work has not begun.
The Hadapsar-Swargate-Katraj stretch is India’s first pilot BRTS route, erected four years ago.
Rajendra Jagtap, PMPML chairman and managing director, said, “We demanded the PMC restart the corridor between Hadapsar and Swargate which has been completely damaged. The corridor is not functional for the last many years.”
Former mayor and NCP leader Prashant Jagtap blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) for no fund allocation for the BRTS corridor.
Jagtap said, “ It was the responsibility of the ruling party to kick-start the project. The central government is also neglecting the BRTS. The central government had given almost Rs1,000 crore in funds to erecting the BRTS in Pune.”
Officers from the PMC are not ready to speak on the issue. On condition of anonymity, one PMC official said that officebearers should take a decision on kick- starting the BRTS route. “It was demolished by an elected member but no action had been taken. If the funds get allocated, it would take at least one year to erect infrastructure on this stretch,” the official said.
