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Gadkari inaugurates Chandani Chowk flyover in Pune, pitches for skybus services
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways inaugurates a multi-level flyover at Chandani Chowk to address traffic congestion in Pune. Minister also announces plans for elevated roads and skybus services in the city. Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar attend the inauguration.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways on Saturday inaugurated a multi-level flyover built at Chandani Chowk. The inauguration comes after much delay and will address traffic congestion in the city. He also pitched for skybus services.
While Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not present at the event, deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar attended the inauguration. “The main issue of traffic congestion in Pune will be resolved as the bridge constructed here at Chandani Chowk has a total length of 16.98 km. An amount of ₹865 crore has been spent on this project and now the work on the 2.2-km-long Chandani Chowk interchange has also been completed,” Gadkari said.The internal and external service roads have been aligned with Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway, he said.
Double-decker flyovers
The minister also announced to construct elevated roads on five highways that connect Pune city. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of ₹50,000 crore is ready, said Gadkari.
“To further reduce traffic in the city, we have proposed to construct double-decker roads on Pune-Solapur, Pune-Bengaluru, Pune-Ahmednagar, Pune-Nashik and Pune-Dehu roads. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will construct the roads, however, the state government should take responsibility of land acquisition and waive 9% GST and royalty,” said Gadkari.
Sky bus service
“When I was appointed as the union minister of highways, I received three main requests from Pune representatives. First was metro, second was to improve Lohegaon airport and third was the Chandani Chowk flyover. Now that all these have been completed, the city should think about sky buses,” said Gadkari.
“I advise Ajit Pawar and Chandrakant Patil (higher and technical education minister) to go through a presentation on skybus. These buses have the capacity to carry 250 passengers and they travel above the ground,” he added.
During the event Pawar appealed Gadkari to help with the ring road. “Many highways connect the city, and highway traffic gets mixed with the city vehicles, which is creating more traffic congestion. While we are planning the ring road, central government must too step in,” said Pawar.
Gadkari also appealed the state government to make ethanol and electric buses mandatory in the city to help control pollution and bring Pune back to its green glory. “Pune city is green, but polluted. We must take efforts to improve air quality,” he said.
During his visit to the city, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar also travelled on the newly launched Pune Metro. He took a ride from Ruby Hall station to Vanaz Metro station
