123Pune.com

Pune, April 18: COMMUTERS continued to have a bad time at Parihar, Bremen, Range Hills and University chowks— the connecting corridors between Pashan, Aundh and Baner — on Wednesday, the second day after traffic diversions were introduced on Tuesday to ensure speedy work on the University flyovers.

The only saving grace was smooth flow of vehicles on Ganeskhind Road from the University which the traffic police, with support from Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) 25 traffic wardens, ensured.

The opening of private roads belonging to NCL Colony and Sindh Housing Society brought some more relief.

Police inspector Prabhakar Dhamale said, “The NCL Colony gate has been opened for traffic from Baner to Pashan and vice-versa. Similarly, Sindh Housing Society in Aundh too opened its gates from the Bremen chowk side to allow traffic to pass in both directions from Pashan and Baner. However, the Armament Colony gate connecting it to YASHADA on Baner Road was closed. Officials said they would require permission from their headquarters in New Delhi.”

“The Baner-ITI Road is undergoing repairs. Work on installing the stormwater drains is a hindrance and ITI Road’s resurfacing is shoddy,”said a traffic official.

The situation will ease only after June 15. Speaking to Pune Newsline, MSRDC’s superintending engineer Manoj Khairkar said, “We expect to finish by June 15,” he said.

However, the Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) was hit with Tuesday’s losses alone mounting to Rs 4 lakh. Passengers had to shell out higher fares for longer routes the buses had to take. The new traffic plan bans PMT buses on many routes passing University chowk, besides route diversions. There was a drop in passengers too.

The PMT, which broke even in February after two decades, recorded a drop in income from Rs 50 lakh on Monday to Rs 46 lakh on Tuesday.

The 119 buses plying via University chowk till Monday, each making eight trips daily, to destinations like Chinchwad, Baner, Hinjewadi, Sangvi, Pimple Nilakh, Mhalunge, Balewadi and Talegaon Dabhade, have been diverted. As a result, the 119 buses have been collectively running an extra 5,000 km for which the diesel cost is a hefty Rs 50,000.

Bus services to Baner on route number 109 (PMC-University-Pashan-Kothurd-Deccan-PMC) have been closed causing a major inconvinence to passengers.

PMT committee chairman Bhimrao Patole on Wednesday rushed to Commissioner of Police Jayant Umranikar and traffic deputy commissioner of police Mahesh Ghurye, with a request that the original routes of the PMT buses be restored.

“Commuters travelling daily by PMT to Sangvi, Chinchwad, Pashan, Baner and Hinjewadi have to pay anything between Rs 3-Rs 7 more. The PMT had suffered Rs 4 lakh loss on Tuesday,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) on Wednesday suggested starting PMT mini buses in this area at a meeting of the MCCIA’s railways, road and traffic management committee.

The PMT representative informed that over 600 daily trips had been cancelled to the area, affecting more than 42,000 commuters. “PMT mini buses can ply to this area. We will communicate it to the traffic police,” said committee chairman Chandmal Parmar.

The committee members came down strongly on the decision to ban public transport. “Instead of public transport, why can’t they ban private vehicles? The PMT buses are less in number when compared to private vehicles,” said Nagrik Chetna Manch president Maj Gen SCN Jatar (Retd) .

MCCIA moots traffic management plan
THE railways, roads and traffic management committee of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) has decided to check the possibilities of a traffic management plan for the city in a meeting on Wednesday at MCCIA Trade Towers.

According to the committee, the plan is expected to have a holistic picture of the city regarding issues of one-way, public transport way, congested junctions, signal synchronization.

The committee said they will also co-ordinate with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in implementation the of the 2007 Development Plan. “We will inform the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal corporations to keep a tab on the construction activities in 15 km outside their limits,” the committee said.

Appreciating the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), the committee had decided to seek the pre-feasibility, feasibility and Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the pilot route of the system implemented on Katraj-Swargate-Hadapsar corridor.

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