PMPML may scrap BRTS on Ahmednagar Road due to metro pillars

Since several days now, the Ahmednagar Road BRTS is not operational and all buses are using non-BRTS lanes meant for private vehicles, leading to severe traffic congestion

While the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) claims that BRTS will not be affected by the metro, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) may have to scrap BRTS corridors in parts of the city where metro pillars too have been constructed, converting these into hybrid stretches where both public and private buses can run. The Ahmednagar Road BRTS route is a case in point.

While the Maha Metro claims that BRTS will not be affected by the metro, the PMPML may have to scrap BRTS corridors in parts of the city (HT FILE PHOTO)

Since several days now, the Ahmednagar Road BRTS is not operational and all buses are using non-BRTS lanes meant for private vehicles, leading to severe traffic congestion. According to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), metro pillars are occupying nearly two metres of the Nagar Road BRTS lane, especially between Parnakuti (Yerawada) and Gunjan Chowk, and Ramwadi and Weikfield Junction.

A senior official from the PMC road department said that the width of the Ahmednagar Road BRTS lane must be increased from the existing seven metres to nine metres to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic between Ramwadi and Weikfield Junction, and Parnakuti and Gunjan Chowk. However, the civic body cannot increase the width of theAhmednagar Road BRTS lane without increasing the width of the road. “There is no space to widen the existing road. There is no space between Parnakuti and Gunjan Chowk. However, there is scope to widen the road between Ramwadi and Weikfield Junction,” he said.

Omprakash Bakoria, chairman and managing director, PMPML, said, “The metro pillars have affected some of the BRTS bus stops. On the Ahmednagar Road stretch, some of the bus stops have been disturbed and we are discussing about restoring BRTS with the Metro officials. The picture will be clear after the Maha Metro finishes the work. However, we will have to make changes or adjustments to the bus stops and dedicated BRTS lanes. We will have to implement a hybrid system in some parts.”

At a time when there is a possibility of the BRTS corridors in parts of the city like Ahmednagar Road being scrapped, the PMC has decided to carry out maintenance works worth Rs1 crores on BRTS routes such as Solapur Road, Swargate-Katraj Route, and Vishrantwadi-Sangamwadi Route in addition to the Nagar Road stretch.

V G Kulkarni, chief superintendent, road department, PMC, said, “It is regular tender to repair and maintain BRTS-related work. Every year, the corporation carries out repair work on BRTS roads. It is not a single tender but a tender of each individual BRTS route.”

“It is true that metro pillars have been constructed on the Ahmednagar Road BRTS lane. Prima facie, it looks like we will have to break the BRTS on such stretches of Ahmednagar Road because if we continue with BRTS, the road in use will be much narrowed,” Kulkarni said.

While the civic administration claims that BRTS is operational in most parts of the city, the ground reality is that BRTS on metro routes (Ahmednagar Road) may have to be scrapped.

Jugal Rathi, president, PMP Pravasi Manch, said, “PMC and PMPML should give us an assurance of regularising the BRTS service on these routes before spending money, especially the Ahmednagar RoadBRTS route. Right now, commuters want regular and prompt PMPML service and not fancy ideas and AC buses. The civic body’s maintenance and repair work is all about spending public money for vested interests.”

Whereas Hemant Sonawane, public relations officer, Pune Metro, said, “I don’t think there will be any problem for BRTS on the Ahmednagar Roadstretch. Right now, metro work is underway on BRTS routes especially in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and Ahmednagar Road areas and therefore, BRTS is not operational on these stretches.