The Times of India               08.12.2010

PMC revives riverside road project

PUNE: The controversial project of building a riverside road along the Mutha and Mula rivers, from Shivane to Kharadi -- a distance of 18 km, which had been kept under wraps for two years now, has been revived by the Pune Municipal Corporation, with the civic body inviting fresh bids from private construction firms for the project on Tuesday. Significantly, while the cost of the project three years back was around Rs 105 crore, the same has now increased by a whopping Rs 202 crore to Rs 307 crore.

The PMC is going ahead with the plan, despite the fact that most of the land required for the road is yet to be acquired, and, at some places, it has been encroached upon. The PMC has, however, justified its decision saying that the project was earmarked in the 1987 development plan and that it is a "riverside'' road and not a road in the "riverbed''.

Interestingly, the PMC has left out a 3.8 km road stretch, between Mhatre bridge and Sangamwadi, which is located in the central part of the city. It says the work will be taken up in the next phase as the road is to be connected to the bridges across the river.

The PMC plans to construct the road in two phases, the first being the stretch from Shivane to Mhatre bridge -- a distance of six km -- and the second from Sangamwadi to Kharadi -- a distance of 11.8 km. If the PMC manages to clear all the hurdles and go ahead with its decision, the road will be 30 metres wide and a fully concrete elevated one running along the banks of the Mula and the Mutha rivers. In some places it may narrow down to 24 metres and will be vital link between the Mumbai-Bangalore and the Pune-Ahmednagar highways.

The road will allow commuters from eastern Pune, like Koregaon Park, Lohegaon and Kharadi, reach central Pune much faster. Similarly, it will be a direct link for Kothrud, Karvenagar and Deccan Gymkhana areas to Ahmednagar road. The civic road department believes that the road, if built, would decongest traffic on several major thoroughfares in the city.

Additional city engineer and traffic planner Shriniwas Bonala told TOI that the road will not be built in the riverbed. "The project finds mention in the city's development plan, environmental groups have been opposing a road in the riverbed and not on the riverside," Bonala added.

Asked whether leaving the stretch between Mhatre bridge and Sangamwadi would make the entire project redundant, Bonala said work on the stretch would be taken up in the second phase as it involves linking the road to the bridges and the existing roads. A detailed project report for the proposed road is ready, he added.

The Deccan chronicle  08.12.2010

Bengaluru, Dec. 7: A substantial amount of money has been ploughed into laying and improving roads in Bengaluru over the last few years , especially after the formation of the BBMP, says the chairman of the Taskforce on Quality Assurance in Public Constructions C. R. Vishwanath. And the BBMP itself claims it spends nearly ` 1,000 crore a year on developing and repairing roads in the city. But this is hard to believe when you drive around Bengaluru as the roads are as filled with potholes as they have always been, even in the heart of the city. If wear and tear is the problem, the BBMP should obviously be looking for ways to make the roads more durable.

The solution is concrete roads even if they are more expensive to lay in the short term, says Mr Vishwanath, adding that his task force is quite keen on relaying roads in the city with white topping to make them more durable. “Agencies like the BBMP, BDA and other local bodies must start laying concrete roads as they are of superior quality compared to asphalted roads and last for at least three decades,” he says, pointing out that the better quality roads will be good for cars and buses as well as they will not suffer as much damage as they are doing today.Fortunately, the concept has the backing of the Chief Minister. Speaking at a function to mark the opening of a concrete stretch of the Hosur Road in Madivala, a few months ago, Mr Yeddyurappa had recommended building concrete roads and had directed agencies to identify arterial roads for the purpose.

The Chief Minister was not put off by the fact that the initial capital investment in concrete roads is about 20 per cent higher than for asphalted roads as they work out economical in the long run.

Mr Vishwanath suggests that considering the cost involved, concrete roads could be developed on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis. “In years to come the cost of imported bitumen will rise and so laying of concrete road will then seem more economical,” he says, deploring the fact that the contractor lobby makes sure the roads laid in the city are of poor quality.

Although there are no complaints about the concrete stretch of Hosur road laid on a pilot basis, the BBMP has made no announcement so far about how it intends to take this project further. One wonders when it will come out with plans to give concrete shape to the suggestions made by the CM to improve the condition of roads.