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Pune most livable city has more scope for improvement, say experts

Ranking comes when Pune is working on smart cities & Metro projects

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With response to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' Ease of Living Index survey that has ranked Pune as the most livable city in India, experts in the city think it still has a scope for improvement, especially with regards to traffic and ecology. The survey has ranked Pune first followed by Navi Mumbai and Greater Mumbai.

The ranking comes at a time when Pune undergoing a lot of transformation including the Centre's smart cities project going on in parts of Baner and Balewadi areas, while in Kothrud and Deccan areas, the construction of city's first Metro is underway.

These ongoing projects are also an indicator of how the city, which once was known as pensioners' city or the city of bicycles, has transformed into a city of automobiles as well as the IT hub.

Experts from different fields also feel that in spite of competing with the Metro cities, Pune has managed to restore its old charm. Col (Retd) Lalit Rai, the army officer who had participated in Kargil war, chose Pune as his home post-retirement. "The weather here is fantastic and the people are nice, therefore a lot of officers from the armed forces come to Pune to settle down. The city is very modern and liberal but at the same time, it has the warmth which other metros lack."

The Kargil war veteran, however, feels that the city needs to work on the traffic issues. "Traffic has remained the problem area for Pune. The people have become indifferent to police in terms of following traffic rules. The lack of public transport adds to the traffic problem, which the city will have to address on a priority basis. The other area where the scope of improvement is there for the city is the cleanliness of its rivers. The Mula and Mutha rivers are far away from being called as clean," Rai said.

The other reason, experts think, why people prefer settling in Pune is the safety it provides for women. Meeran Borwankar, retired IPS who was also the commissioner of police of Pune, has also settled in Pune post-retirement. She feels that the city is gender friendly. "The women in this city are more aware of their rights and they are expressive. The city in general is gender friendly and the crime rate is also relatively low here. The citizens are also very active and they take a keen interest in terms of voicing their opinion regarding the administration of the city."

Pune is also considered as a youthful city where a large number of students comes from various parts of the country. Dr Vasude Gade, former Vice Chanellor of Savitribai Pune Phule University said, "Many students prefer to come down to Pune for education because of the standard of living, safe environment and job opportunities that the city offers to them." Gade however, feels that the standard of education in Pune needs improvement to match with the other institutes of the country.

As far as the industry sector is concerned, the multi-national companies from IT and Automobile sector setting up their offices endorse the first ranking of Pune. Anant Sardeshmukh, director general of Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries said, "Many global players prefer Pune to set up their offices in Pune which also increase the job opportunities in the city. The city's environment also makes a lot of people to settle down here."

EXPERT TRENDS

  • Pune is considered a youthful city where many students come from various parts of the country 
     
  • MNCs, IT & the automobile sector increasingly setting up their offices are endorse why Pune has been ranked first
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