18.7.08

Water navigation on the cards in Pune?

Ever thought of going to office in the city on boats? The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) came one step closer to making this a reality when a consultant showed to the civic body how it would be possible to turn the city into Venice of India by spending about Rs 550 crore.
The first phase of the project, between Khadakwasla and Kharadi, a distance of about 27 kilometers, could cost about Rs 100 crore, but the transport feasibility could easily make it one of the most preferred ones for the citizens.“It will cost just Rs 15 per head for endless ferries throughout the day,’’ standing committee chairman Shyam Deshpande, before whom the presentation was made.But affordability of cost is just one of the least important factors why PMC wants to give the water navigation system a try. Traffic congestion has reached one of the worst levels with new vehicles pouring on the roads at the rate of over 6,800 every month.
All the three rivers - Mutha, Mula and Pavana - on whose confluence stands Pune, are heavily polluted water bodies severely impacting the flora and fauna and downstream agriculture activities, the report on river restoration with inland water transportation that was presented to the standing committee stated.The boats will have a capacity to ferry nearly 61,500 passengers and 46,000 vehicles per day along the Mula-Mutha rivers in the first year and will go up to 14,00,000 vehicles and 1,85,000 passengers in the second year. Once the environment department of the Central government approves the waterway proposal, the PMC would assign a consultant to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to ensure that it is implemented in a proper manner..

1 comment:

Chinmay said...

Any progress on this?