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Commuters miffed with PMPML for removing two bus stops on East Street
Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) chief executive officer (CEO) Subrat Pal said that while the PMPML authorities had removed the bus stops near Kumar bungalow and Shivarkar petrol pump, they would replace them with the latest, citizen-friendly infrastructure
A month ago, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd. (PMPML) had razed two important bus stops in the Camp area - one near Kumar bungalow and the other near Shivarkar petrol pump – saying that it would replace these bus stops with brand new ones having modern facilities. However, the move hasn’t gone down well with commuters, especially since the promised new bus stops are nowhere in sight. So much so that commuters are now citing the example of the PMPML bus stop opposite SGS mall, saying that that too wasn’t repaired for more than three months after it collapsed a year ago and that it was finally repaired only due to mounting public pressure. Even now, the bus stop has no proper lighting arrangement at night, they said.
Social worker Rajabhau Chavan said, “A year ago, they (PMPML) abandoned the bus stop work opposite SGS mall due to sheer carelessness and negligence and completed it after three months only when they came under criticism from civil society. It’s been more than a month that the bus stops near Kumar bungalow and Shivarkar petrol pump have been removed and PMPML authorities are showing absolute lethargy in replacing them with new bus stands.”
Manjett Singh Virdi, president, MSV Foundation, and a prominent businessman who owns a furniture shop at East Street, said that there was no need to remove these two bus stops in the first place as they were in good condition and comfortable for the commuters. “The commuters are now finding it difficult to track the location of the bus stops and are getting late in reaching their office or home. Also, senior citizens are harassed the most as there is no seating arrangement in place. Neither the PCB nor the PMPML inform the public in advance about the removal of bus stops. The sudden removal has been causing severe inconvenience to commuters and the new bus stops must be immediately erected to stop such harassment of commuters,” he said.
Shirish Palsule, a senior citizen travelling to Kondhwa, said, “I had to ask at least three shopkeepers for the location of the bus stop from where I could travel to Kondhwa. At present, there is no bus stop sign which is causing inconvenience for senior citizens like us.”
However, Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) chief executive officer (CEO) Subrat Pal said that while the PMPML authorities had removed the bus stops near Kumar bungalow and Shivarkar petrol pump, they would replace them with the latest, citizen-friendly infrastructure.
“We will write to them (PMPML) and remind them that the bus stops are to be erected again at the earliest so that no inconvenience is caused to daily commuters. The matter will be taken up on a priority basis with the PMPML authorities,” Pal said.
The PMPML public relations office did not comment on the issue when contacted.
