[sustran] Pune Citizens' groups uphold merits of underground metro project

[Vinay Baindur]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/13060114.cms


*Citizens' groups uphold merits of underground metro project*

TNN | May 9, 2012, 06.36AM IST
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PUNE: Citizens groups want the state government to carry out a detailed
study and evaluate the underground metro with an environmental impact
assessment.

Utility and cost effectiveness for the next hundred years should be the
criteria for the metro rail project, the groups said. They submitted a
memorandum to chief ministerPrithviraj Chavan recently.

The groups include National Society for Clean Cities, PMP Pravasi Manch,
Pedestrians First, former managing director of Konkan Railway
Corporation Ketan Gokhale, and town planning expert Pratap Rawal. They said
the government should consider the views of all experts before taking a
final decision about the metro rail project based on a comparative
cost-benefit analysis.

"A serious study of the better alternative of underground metro has not
been done. A decision is being taken on the basis of cost as per
recommendations of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. This is not in the
best interest of the city," they said.

On Saturday, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who was in the city for the
presentation of the ring road project for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, had
said that the state government will clear the 14.295-km Vanaz-Ramwadi
elevated rail corridor proposal later this week. "There is no confusion
about it (metro project). I will take the proposal to the chief minister
and it should be cleared by the state cabinet next week," he had said.

Incidentally, the NCP, over the past six months, had been insisting that
the city should have an underground metro project. Last month, the party
changed track. It said that considering the cost factor, the city should
have an elevated metro. The memorandum by the citizens groups has come in
the wake of the statements made by Pawar last week.

The groups said that there are serious concerns about the elevated metro
from Vanaz to Ramwadi. High passenger density locations such as
Shivajinagar railway station, Shivajinagar ST bus stand, Pune railway
station, and Pune station ST bus stand have not been covered by the route.
"This will not be the case with an underground metro which will pass below
the railway stations and ST stands giving direct access to the metro
station. This will be convenient and passengers will use the underground
metro," the memorandums said.

The groups stated that parking space will not be available in the vicinity
of the elevated metro stations as the route runs along congested roads.
People located away from metro route will not find it convenient to travel
up to the metro station using their own vehicles. Thus, the metro will not
be able to serve larger areas away from metro stations.

"Vanaz-Ramwadi route is a low passenger density route as per the DMRC's
report. The proposed elevated metro will not be of expected use to a
majority," the groups said.

Other problems cited were that the route passes through fully developed,
densely populated areas and highly congested roads. "Construction of
elevated metro on this route with large columns inthe middle and huge metro
stations will have several practical problems such as land acquisition,
demolition of buildings, shifting of underground utilities, metro alignment
on existing roads with flyovers and sharp turns, besides hurdles in
obtaining various statutory permissions. These problems will severely
hamper the metro project," the citizens said. They added that the same
problems have been experienced with metros in Mumbai, Bangalore, and
Jaipur. The groups said that an underground metro would leave the entire
road space for vehicular traffic.

The citizens' groups have said that the city's bus service needs urgent
improvement. An efficient bus service is needed as a feeder service for the
metro to be successful. Bus service in the city is poor and needs
upgradation. In the last two years, the civic administration and the
government should have taken measures for working out suitable solutions.