Monday Musings: Dear CM, Pune does not want a fantasy called Hyperloop

Dear Chief Minister, To us in Pune, the Government of Maharashtra seems to be deaf to the crying need of the people for a decent city bus service. Therefore, this open letter to you…

Hon. Devendra Fadnavis

The Hyperloop, is projected to cost Rs. 70,000 crore, is not a project that the people of Pune and Mumbai have been hankering for (PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY)

Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Dear Sir,

Firstly, thank you for your close attention to the needs of Pune city, right from the time you became chief minister of Maharashtra.

One of the most visible symbols of your government’s commitment is the fast-paced work on the Pune Metro project. Given the pathetic state of public transport in Pune, the metro rail project should have been initiated at least a decade ago. There is some consolation in the fact that this was one of the first projects that your government took up.

I write to you to ask why is the government not showing the same commitment towards improving the city bus service run by the PMPML (Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd.)?

To us in Pune, the Government of Maharashtra seems to be deaf to the crying need of the people for a decent city bus service. Therefore, this open letter to you.

At a time when Pune has a fistful of pressing priorities--almost similar to those of any emerging Indian megapolis--the state government is toying with an untried, untested futuristic transport technology. ‘Toying’ is the right word to describe your government’s plan to proceed with the Hyperloop project which envisages a Pune-Mumbai trip at the lightning speed of 23 minutes.

This fantasy-like technology, which goes far beyond the Bullet Train in its promise, was proposed by American company Virgin Hyperloop and the company signed a framework agreement with Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) in February 2018. Last week, your cabinet accorded it the status of a “basic infrastructure project.”

As was announced, the first stage is a 11.8-km demonstration track between Gahunje and Urse village alongside the Pune-Mumbai expressway on Pune’s outskirts. The land acquisition for this will be PMRDA’s responsibility and the cost of the demonstration infrastructure--pegged at Rs. 5,000 crore ($724 million) -- will be borne by Virgin Hyperloop.

We understand that the very first hurdle this project needs to cross is land acquisition: Wary farmers have already protested while former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan--a qualified engineer from the University of California, Berkeley--has raised questions of technical feasibility.

Sir, you are aware that the Hyperloop, projected to cost Rs. 70,000 crore, is not a project that the people of Pune and Mumbai have been hankering for. Their demands are quite different.

Suffering from acute waterlogging, deaths due to the collapse of dilapidated buildings every monsoon and poor maintenance of railway overbridges, the people of Mumbai want better planning of their city. They would wholeheartedly welcome the allocation of resources and involvement of the best minds to address this recurring crisis.

We feel that things are equally worse in Pune, which, in spite of being a booming, prosperous city, much larger than many state capitals, suffers from political and bureaucratic neglect because it is not a state capital.

For nearly a decade now, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been indiscriminately issuing construction permits in emerging suburbs like Wakad and Wagholi without taking responsibility for basic infrastructure such as water supply and roads. Some of these neighbourhoods suffer from regular power outages of 18 hours and more due to outdated transformers.

Much to the dismay of the citizenry of Pune, our city’s crying need for a robust bus service continues to be neglected by politicians and bureaucrats. Rather than attending to these pressing needs, your government appears to be toying with the Hyperloop.

The PMPML needs at least an additional 1,000 good quality buses to take its fleet strength to 2,500 buses, and along with it, modern depots, good bus stops and an efficient staff.

It is our fervent hope that your government will address this crying need of Pune city.

Yours truly,

Abhay Vaidya

(Resident Editor, Hindustan Times)