E-Paper
Monday Musings: Mass transport for Pune, BJP must now deliver
It is after many decades that the crying needs of Pune are being addressed. Sound delivery of projects is now important
The residents of Pune have been demanding a sound mass transport system for this growing metropolis for almost three decades now.
In the absence of a dependable bus service, people have been forced to invest in personal transport for their daily commuting. This dependence on personal two-wheelers and four wheelers eventually became chronic as the city grew and expanded, and people young and old had to commute for anything and everything, be it going to college or coaching classes; to work or to meet friends and family and to do the chores of the household.
Election after election, political parties promised to address the city’s needs for mass transport and in the mid-2000s, a pilot BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) was launched in Pune. Soon, BRTS construction was undertaken in various parts of the city, besides Pimpri Chinchwad, but as we all know this initiative has suffered from shoddy implementation.
All along, the politicians continued to neglect the city bus service operated by the PMPML (Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd), as a result of which, there was never adequate fleet strength and the service was marred by frequent bus breakdowns as was highlighted in our annual round-up for 2018, last week.
The 2014 general elections brought about a major change on the political front and with it, came some big initiatives for Pune. The presence of the BJP at the city, state and national level coupled with the attention devoted to Pune’s needs by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has been noteworthy.
Thus, we now see that work is progressing at considerable speed on three metro lines in the city, the third one which has been undertaken by the PMRDA (Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority).
The BRTS and the PMPML continue to suffer from neglect, although there is the promise of better fleet strength in the new year.
On the third front with regards to mass transport is the High capacity mass transit route (HCMTR) or inner ring road of 37 km which will connect at least 60 arterial roads and help decongest traffic in the city by enabling heavy vehicles to travel on the ring road instead of city roads. Fadnavis recently said that the HCMTR will be aligned with the Metro and the outer ring road and thus further help in the decongestion.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised that the first 12 km of metro line will become operational by end of next year, and the Shivajinagar-Hinjewadi metro corridor constructed by Tata-Siemens in two-and-half years, it is important that all the mass transport projects for Pune are executed swiftly and soundly.
It is indeed after a number of decades that the crying needs of Pune on the mass transport front have got the government’s attention and the necessary resources and planning is being devoted to prepare this city for the future. What is now important is the sound delivery of these projects.
