The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route on Nagar Road, which had been a primary cause of traffic congestion, delays, and accidents, was finally razed by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) late on Wednesday night.
The removal of the BRT route occurred in the presence of PMC officials and Sunil Tingre, the leader who first highlighted the chaos caused by it.
Tingre, an NCP leader and member of the legislative assembly (MLA) for Vadgaonsheri Constituency, had initially raised concerns about the BRT lanes in the assembly.
“For years, I've been addressing the issue of traffic jams on Nagar Road. We observed a surge in vehicle numbers on this route. The BRT lanes were causing severe congestion, diverting commuters and bikers onto other routes, resulting in accidents. Overturning vehicles and a rise in fatal accidents on the same road in recent years were directly linked to the BRT lanes,” Tingre explained to The Free Press Journal.
"These concerns were validated by a report from the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) following their research on the road, confirming that Nagar Road could function without BRT lanes, providing relief to daily commuters. Finally, after several demands, our efforts were fruitful and the BRT route was removed, he added.
"We are sure that with the BRT lane removal, the traffic will be reduced to a great extent helping people reach their destinations on time," he further said.
Commuters Share Their Views:
Manoj Pachpute, a businessman and resident of Kharadi, who travels on an everyday basis to Pune using Nagar Road, said, “I am a businessman, and most of my meetings take place in Pune’s prominent areas. However, the BRT lanes were the main hindrance to delays in my meetings. Now, with the removal of BRT routes, I am sure many like me will be relieved and will save their precious time.”
Another commuter, Narayan Galande, a social worker and business person (construction) said, “Since I am a resident of Vadgaonsheri, Nagar Road is my everyday route. Many know that the traffic, mainly between 5pm and 7pm is a nuisance on this route. Starting from Phoenix Mall Chowk to Weikfield Chowk, then Viman Nagar, Sanaswadi, and then Kharadi bypass, the traffic jam causes much panic among the commuters and residents. We have seen water tankers getting overturned. It is a welcoming step and we hope the roads become much better for us to travel now."
President of MNS, Vadgaonsheri Constituency, Sunil Kadam, applauded the efforts taken by Tingre and congratulated him for his success on the removal of BRT lanes.
He said, “Even though we belong to different parties, I believe, people should always be on the priority list. The work has been done for the betterment of the people and I hope we continue to solve problems in our constituency in the near future too.”
