PUNE: Looking at the bad condition of roads in Hinjawadi and Wakad areas and the traffic congestion, IT employees of the Hinjawadi Industries Association (HIA) are worried that if Metro project starts in this situation it will lead to a huge chaos. So they are demanding that the ongoing work of constructing alternative roads should be completed first and then the work of Metro should be started.
Col (Retd) Charanjeet Bhogal, Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of HIA said, “It is not that Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) is not doing any developmental work, but due to land acquisition problems and tendering issues the work of road construction is getting delayed. So we are not against PMRDA, but we are supporting them.”
“On the other hand, we are also worried that if the Metro project starts even before completion of the construction of road then it could lead to a huge traffic problem and the existing traffic congestion could turn out into unmanageable chaos. Because the current situation of traffic becomes unbearable as it takes around one to two hours to cover a distance of more than two kms, especially in the peak hours. And once the Metro project starts, they will acquire some space on the road to do the work which will again lead to additional traffic problem on the same road. That is the reason we are demanding that the road work should be completed by PMRDA before starting the Metro project,” Bhogal said.
Kiran Gitte, PMRDA Commissioner, said, “There are three roads which are under construction includes Nande, Chande and Mahalunge. They come in a straight line of 5 kms. These roads had huge and several potholes, and but now it has been repaired. In the next four to five months the construction of these roads will be completed before starting up with Metro project. The tender of Metro project is under the acceptance stage, so it will likely start after the completion of road work.”
Hinjawadi industry body also fears that Metro work will worsen traffic problem
