The introduction of ‘flying buses’ will help ease Pune’s traffic woes, said Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday.
Mr. Gadkari, who took a review of the development projects as well as the traffic blight afflicting Pune’s commuters, said that the flying buses and elevated roads could help resolve the city’s knotty traffic problem.
“If the plan of a flying bus or trolley bus is adopted by the Pune municipal authorities, then the people can be rid of traffic congestions. There is also a plan to build an elevated road connecting Pune to Satara,” Mr. Gadkari said.
He further informed that the Pune-Bengaluru Greenfield Highway would make it possible to reach Bengaluru from Pune in a mere three-and-a-half hours while the Mumbai to Bengaluru distance could be traversed in just four-and-a-half-hours.
“The advantage of the Pune-Bengaluru Greenfield Highway will be that the trains going from Mumbai to Bangalore will leave through outside routes instead of entering Pune. Thus, it will be possible to reach Bangalore from Mumbai in four and a half hours and from Pune in three and a half hours. The project, which passes through the drought-hit areas in the State, will pave the way for their development,” Mr. Gadkari said.
Later, Mr. Gadkari and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis shared the dais with former Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi at the inaugural function of the Pune Festival later today.
In 2010, the local BJP unit had vehemently opposed Mr. Kalmadi – then a Congress stalwart in Pune - after he faced allegations of financial misappropriation during the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG).
Since then, local BJP leaders have stayed away from the Pune Festival owing to its association with Mr. Kalmadi.
