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#puneonmymind: Bigger than many state capitals, Pune needs extra funds, support from government, writes Arvind Shinde
Pune is blessed with rivers that pass through the heart of the city. This needs to be developed and water taxies could ply from Kothrud to Kharadi, saving time and fuel, and reducing traffic congestion, said Arvind Shinde, Congress leader in PMC.
Pune’s identity is rich in its glorious achievements of the past, be it in the fields of education and scholarship; arts, film and culture; social reforms and the freedom struggle. It is the birthplace of many innovations and the fecund imagination of its brightest residents is bound to ensure its emergence as a city of the future.
This is the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Lokmanya Tilak and many social reformers. The city provided critical leadership during the freedom movement and has been the birthplace of many reformative initiatives, which were accepted and replicated by the rest of the country.
Before discussing the ideas for change, we need to understand the strong points of the city and its available resources. Pune has a pleasant weather, sufficient water availability and is the cultural capital of Maharashtra.
All the top IT firms have a presence in this city, which also has a very strong automobile manufacturing base. Many foreign direct investors prefer Pune and educational institutes in the city attract students from all over the country as well as abroad.
Against this background, there is no doubt that Pune will emerge as a city of the future. The role of the local urban body is extremely important on this score as it has the responsibility of creating the basic infrastructure in the city.
Issues such as roads, footpaths, water and drainage systems, building permissions, public transport, health issues and other aspects of basic infrastructure which directly concern the citizens are handled by the local body — Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
Top cities of India are mostly state capitals, except Pune. Hence, it does not get enough financial support from the state and central governments. Naturally, the entire burden of creating the necessary infrastructure falls on the local body. What is needed first and foremost is that the central and state governments must give greater priority to Pune city on the strength of the city’s merit and potential, and without paying heed to party politics.
In spite of all odds, the PMC has been able to pay a fair amount of attention towards creating better infrastructure, but a lot more needs to be done.
Pune need broader footpaths. The vehicular population has been soaring and keeping this in mind, the priority previously was to widen the existing roads. Now, however, there is a need to change this mindset and along with vehicles, it is necessary to concentrate on non-motorised vehicles, like cycles, and provide the appropriate facilities if people would prefer to walk. There is certainly a need to widen the footpaths in the city.
Pune has already taken steps to construct the metro system. Along with this, there is a need to develop other modes of public transport in future. Developing public transport will be a continuous process, but before that, there is a need to discipline the existing traffic. The people of Pune follow traffic rules everywhere, especially, abroad, but while driving in Pune, the people don’t respect traffic signals, which brings a bad name to the city.
Pune is blessed with rivers which pass through the heart of the city, Therefore, this needs to be developed with water transport and water taxies could ply from Kothrud to Kharadi. This will help save time and fuel and also reduce traffic congestion.
Although Pune has an enviable image, the fact is that almost 40 per cent of the population lives in the slums and the people there face various problems. There is a need to develop these slums properly. Slums provide housing for the thousands of lower staff working for the city’s industrial and commercial establishments. There is a need to free-up the space occupied by these slums and provide good quality, affordable homes to these people. With the help of Mhada (Maharashtra housing and area development authority) or other government schemes, it is possible to make Pune slum-free and provide basic housing to these people.
The PMC is running various schools mainly for students from economically-weaker section of society. There is a need to develop all these schools in terms of education and infrastructure. The municipal schools must be made equipped enough to compete with the private ones.
Pune needs a good International airport as the number of people engaged in foreign travel to and from Pune is quite high. At least 30 per cent air passengers at Mumbai international airport are either from Pune or Pune region. The Lohegaon airport has become overcrowded. Pune’s international airport needs to become operational in the next few years to provide good connectivity to other cities in the world. Given the fact that Pune is one of the important automobile hubs in the country with a number of world-class companies located here, this city needs a convention centre for the automobile industry. This will boost the profile of the industry and the city as well.
