Cite flaws in PMC's pilot plan on Katraj-Swargate-Hadapsar route.
Civic activists and opposition parties up the ante against Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) plan to start the phase II implementation of bus rapid transit system (BRTS) on Fergusson College (FC) Road, Jungli Maharaj (JM) Road and Aundh Road.
They claim that the civic administration is yet to rectify the errors committed on its pilot project on Katraj- Swargate- Hadapsar route. PMC has started phase II work on Alandi Road, Sangamwadi Road and Ahmednagar Road. Those opposing the project claim that it is a futile money spending exercise.
Nagrik Chetna Manch president Maj Gen (retd) SCN Jathar said, “The BRTS project on Katraj-Swargate-Hadapsar has become a pilot project for the entire country on how not to undertake the project. The route of this plan was made operational on December 2006, but it has not been a success till date.”
Jathar said, “A basic need for any BRTS is continuous dedicated lane for buses, but on the pilot project route of 17 km, there is hardly any continuation in dedicated lane with all other vehicles entering into the bus lane. Most of the buses used on this route are high-floor vehicles making it difficult for passengers.”
According to the activist, the average trip length that a passenger travels by bus in Pune is eight to ten km. There is a standard that BRTS corridor should be at least of that length. However, the stretches of FC Road, JM Road or Aundh Road are not more that three km with hardly two to three bus stops. Hence, it cannot be a BRTS.
Pedestrian First NGO convener Prashant Inamdar said, “At present, there is vehicle parking on both sides of these three roads. The central BRTS corridor will leave little space for other vehicles in the remaining lanes on either side of the corridor forcing administration to ban vehicle parking.
Even crossing the roads will be a serious issue for citizens.”
Former corporator and Pune Janhit Aghadi president Ujwal Keskar said, “Opposition parties will hit the streets to make sure that the BRTS work on these busy roads does not start. We will not allow the civic administration to waste public money.”
PMC additional city engineer Vivek Kharawadkar said, “The work on these stretches will take some time as it is still in a planning stage. Hence, I cannot speak much about it.”
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