E-Paper
Your space: BRTS concept good, PMC’s execution bad, say Punekars
The Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) is the elephant in the room in terms of traffic issues that Pune has to address urgently. BRTS has seen crores of rupees already spent, but the civic commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad suggested that the entire system needs a review. Here’s what our readers think of the project...
The Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) is a good concept. However, the problem with Pune’s BRTS is its execution. The administration has failed to execute it effectively and there is no political will to make the BRTS successful. We welcome the new civic chief’s decision to review it, but it should for its improvement and not for scrapping it. The PMC has spent more than Rs 1,000 crore on it and it would be wrong to scrap it. It just needs rectification.
Jugal Rathi, founder, PMP Pravasi Manch
Wastage of taxpayers’ money
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is spending money on the BRTS project blindly. For six months, the BRTS lane is closed due to some repair work. Recently, the PMC had to break the infrastructure as they realised that the bus could not pass through the dedicated lane. It is a wastage of the taxpayers’ money. The money should be recovered from officers and consultants who are not doing proper planning for the project.
Nitin Kadam, NCP Parvati constituency president
Unsafe for citizens
BRTS has created problems for the citizens. Private vehicles entering the BRTS lane do not follow traffic signals. Senior citizens are not able to cross the road. It is unsafe for residents.
Rupa Gujar
PMC should implement decision efficiently
I travel using the PMPML bus daily. Since the last two years, the BRTS lane on Satara road and Hadapsar road has been closed. Even the bus stop locations keep on changing. It is difficult to cross the road on both Hadapsar and Satara road as the autorickshaw drivers, motorcycles drive rashly there. The PMC can take a decision on the project, whether they want to scrap it or use it, but the civic body should ensure that the decision is implemented efficiently. We do not want a fast bus service, we want a reliable and safe bus service.
Asha Boarate
Project executed in a hurry
I welcome the PMC commissioner’s decision to review the BRTS project. When the BRTS project was approved, I was the opposition leader in the PMC and had opposed the project. Without a proper plan, the project was executed in a hurry. The commissioner, must, initiate an inquiry into the project, headed by a retired judge.
Ujwal Keskar, BJP leader
Solve traffic issues first
I have travelled across the world for work, but never have I ever seen such a civic mess. The PMC pays more money for projects than civic bodies abroad, however, they still do not deliver on their promises. So, we do not have a problem of funds, we lack the basic focus of creating better infrastructure. Instead of the BRTS project, first, we should look at enforcing traffic rules strictly.
Gaurav Kelkar
No scope for revival
PMC in defiance of all official Urban Development Ministry (UT Div) ref.no. 14011/44/2006-UT dated 01/11/2006 guidelines on preparation of DPR, IRC’s BRT guidelines has guzzled up public funds that were made available under National Urban Renewal Mission. In addition, environment assessment impact, socio-economic impact, financial pre-feasibility traffic surveys were not conducted because of which PMC hiccupped its way through schedules, execution and funds in the midst of facing public outrage.
This was essentially because there were heavy weights interested and big money involved.
Strictures tabled in both Houses of Parliament in the Urban Development Report 2014-15 that BRTS was ideally suited for greenfield areas (not brownfield) with detailed planning rather than forcing it in into existing cities in a haphazard manner at the risk of safety to life, were ignored.
The state government never did set up an enquiry as directed by the Maharashtra State Estimate Commission in November 2011 to investigate and hold those responsible for laying out BRTS without proper planning and bad quality material, due to which inconvenience to the public increased, fatalities and accidents occurred in view of poor planning.
No outreach was conducted for public inclusivity prior to start –up of BRTS project despite facing negativity from public who went ahead and purchased private two and four-wheelers increasing carbon footprint, rather than risk life and limb in an unsafe public transport for which there was no safe access to the median.
To be an efficient and qualitative bus transport system, there is no need for it to be positioned in the median without safe commuter access. If PMC had logically injected PMPML with the fraction of the monumental Rs 1,000 crore plus money, public would have had a safe and robust bus system on the conventional left side without loss to life and limb.
Construction of more BRTS corridors must stop until PMC gets its act together as the current status of BRTS corridors is violation of human rights. If PMC wants to exhibit credibility and accountability as a good planning authority, it must undertake to first prepare a DPR, all feasibility reports, traffic and other surveys before pouring crores of public funds into its supposed ‘revival’.
Qaneez Sukhrani
Think of other uses for the lanes
Before scrapping the project completely, I feel the BRTS lane can be dedicated for only two-and-three-wheelers and buses, four-wheelers should use the outer roads. The PMC should think about using the BRTS lane for streamlining traffic.
Dr Shantanu Deshpande
Ensure better planning
The proper implementation of the BRTS project is the need of our. A recent study showed that Pune is one of the major cities in India facing adverse traffic conditions. In order to solve the problem, the BRTS project can prove to be a boon, provided that the civic authorities take ‘rapid’ actions for the same. The BRTS routes need to attract more attention in order to sustain themselves. These routes should be restricted to BRTS buses only. The bus stands too need maintenance.
Arya Joshi
