Friday, May 14, 2010

19 May and Metro

Yesterday's Mahacharcha on Metro turned out to be just another meeting.

As expected, none of the political leaders committed anything, except Ujwal Keskar who is unattached. It was clear yesterday from the talks of Vandanatai and Abhayji that NCP and Congress are hell bent on approving proposal for implementation on 19th May. Today's news paper reports also confirmed on this. BJP and Shivsena will support only if amendments are made. Let us see. May be 'Condiderations' of politicians are different than those of citizen.

One thing for sure. If implemented as envisaged in current DPR this project will do permanent, irrevocable damage to Pune city. Once implemented it will also be end of political career of those who supported this. (see what's happening in Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad)

We also should not expect much wisdom from current leadership. Their vision is only towards development of self and not for city. Else they would not have supported and executed all those blunders of development in recent past.

At the same time this project apparently will meet the same fate as Tram, Monorail, Skybus, etc. It has too many hurdles -

Paud phata, Deccan Gymkhana, Pataleshwar, COEP hostels, Sangam bridge, crossing of railways at two locations (near sangam and at Pune Railway Stn).

Going by the history - PMC is struggling to get permissions for widening of Shivaji nagar (Firodiya) and Station (Agakhan) ROBs for decades. Even when our beloved MP Suresh Kalmadi was railway minister he failed to get required permission. So crossing of entire station premises will be a very long battle.

Adding to this will be litigations by all those property owners from Deccan Gymkhana and JM road whose properties will be affected.

Further, finding financer will be a long struggle as This route is not expected to reach optimum ridership in its first 20 years of operation.

So be rest assured that it will be 2026 or 2031 when Metro actually becomes operative.

The after effects..

It will also lead to permanent traffic jams at least at two locations - From Juna Bazar to Maldhakka and at Paud Phata. (other places will have temporary jams lasting 2-3 hrs every morning and evening)

Silver lining will be - properties along metro route will be soon affordable to everyone. You can dream to buy an apartment in the proposed tallest building near paud phata at peanut cost. Rates of properties along Paud road, Karve Road, JM Road and Bundgarden Road will nose dive.

You and me will be too old to see this.. Our children and Grand children will curse us. So will of these politicians. Only happy will be children and grand children of our commissioners who will anyway not be in Pune.

Long live Pune.

4 comments:

  1. The hopelessness of the situation is going deeper and deeper. All the efforts and shouting, coaxing and explaining seemed to have fallen on deaf years. All the toil and public opinion forming seems to be water down the drain, and as our city patrons tightens the noose on the well-being of its citizens, we can only wail in anguish it seems. The amount of vested interest where there is so much money is stake is alarming. I wonder why at least some fellow architects never consider a career or phase in public service, government and public administration. This seems like the only way in which we can enforce development decisions to the benefit of the city. Of course, even then, one doesn't know how power can corrupt such idealists.

    sad... very, very sad...

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  2. I dont think the situation is so bad or hopeless that we have to " wail in anguish " as DC feels. The real problem is that we ( read 'common citizen ' - myself included ) have neither the time nor the inclination to enter our stinking political quagmire, stoop to the base level of these corrupt, unscrupulous, shameless parasites, and correct the situation from within the system.

    We consider ourselves as being too, elitist, intelligent, educated, and morally superior to demean ourselves by confronting such sub-human worms on a one-to-one basis. Sorry, NO ... Not me ... Let somebody else bell this cat.

    What we are unfortunately forgetting in the process is that, in the course of History all over the world, it has always been intellectuals that have brought down Governments and instigated revolutions. We should not underestimate the power of the pen against the might of the sword.

    In the context of this issue (i.e.the Metro),
    there is

    NOTHING to prevent us creating awareness amongst the common citizen through the press and television media ...

    Nothing stops us from appealing to the Judiciary by Public Interest Litigations to intervene and prevent this disaster ...

    Nothing holds us back from writing to higher authorities ( even though some may be merely Worms of a higher order! ) to reign in these local small-fry ...

    Nothing stops us from writing as CITIZEN and convincing the JNNURM authorities that they would be financing a disaster if they provide funds to this idiotic proposal ...

    Nothing holds us back from wisening the Ministry of Environment that NO Environmental Clearance is taken for this project ...

    Nothing wrong in inciting the Rickshaw panchayat that they would lose their livelihood if the Metro steals their customers ( perhaps a little below the belt !? but justified when dealing with rats )

    Nothing is Impossible - if we use our BRAINS!
    It is an established fact that it is easier to be a nuisance and destroy something, than to be pro-active and CREATE something. And, in the present instance our Morality will not come in the way of destroying an EVIL or WRONG in the larger interest of the Society.

    Thus spake Lord Krishna in the Bhagiwat Gita when Arjun raised the issue on a battlefield.

    Our Battle is on .. and even if there are a hundred evil Kauravs .. a few good Pandavs are more than a match for them. Cheer Up !

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  3. Yesterday Ravi Kadam called as he had a talk with Ajay Mehta about the possibility of IUDI directing an alternative technical solution. According to him the cost of preparing such a proposal could be raised. But i had to say to him that it needs to be agreed to by some authority and it needs to be based on surveys and solid facts. Also the agency preparing such a proposal would have to be composed of professionals who have worked on Metros elsewhere (e. g . Narendra Bhagwat). Earlier there was some talk of preparing such a proposal which needs to be revived.

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  4. Very very insightful read. I am sharing the link on Facebook, I hope you dont mind.

    Property prices in the existing, well developed city areas will take a nose dive..and the beneficiaries will be NCP Goons/Politicians/builders (they are one and the same no?) who have vast vested property interests in the fringe areas. This is because not much can be gained by the White shirted Scorpio driving public within the city no ?

    Regards,
    A middle class concerned but powerless citizen.

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