Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday announced the city will soon have electric cable buses. This service will initially start on Inner Ring Road.
“The electric cable bus service will have two to three buses. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has already announced release of INR 125 crore for the project. I have gone through the project report submitted by Tata Consultancy,” said Gadkari.
The Union highways minister was speaking after commissioning nine ROBs in the state, and laying the foundation stone for five flyovers in east and south Nagpur areas.
All the ROBs and proposed flyovers will be constructed by Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDC), also known as MahaRail, a joint venture of the state government and ministry of railways. MahaRail was established to boost rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra by providing critical connectivity and capacity enhancement.
Fadnavis and other dignitaries were present while chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who were to remain present virtually, did not attend.
The idea of running electric cable buses came to Gadkari’s attention during his visit to Czechoslovakia in October to participate in a ministerial session during the 27th World Road Congress in Prague.
Electric cable buses operate on the streets on rubber tyres and are powered by electricity drawn from two overhead wires by trolley poles. It is distinct from a trolley car, which runs on rails rather than on tires and is thus a form of streetcar.
The nine flyovers dedicated to the public on Sunday cost INR 629 crore, and the gathering was taken to the actual project sites to show how traffic has started after the commissioning. “The work on five flyovers costing INR 792 crores has already started and we expect it to be completed soon,” said Fadnavis.
Fadnavis said, “Over INR 5,000 crore worth of works have already started in the city in the last 1.5 years. Our focus is to see how we will be able to change the lives of the people by taking up all-round development.”
The five two-lane flyovers will decongest traffic in Kharbi, Bagadganj, Itwari, and Nandanvan areas in the city. The projects have been funded by the urban development department. The five flyovers will be built from Reshimbag Chowk to KDK College Square & Telephone Exchange Square to Bhande Plot Square (INR 251 crore); Chandrashekhar Azad Square to Marwadi Square (INR 66 crore); Lakadganj Police Station to Wardhaman Nagar (INR 135 crore); Nandanvan Rajendra Nagar to Hasanbagh Chowk (INR 66 crore), and Wardhaman Nagar Chowk to Nirmal Nagari (INR 274 crore).
Both Gadkari and Fadnavis were all praise for East Nagpur MLA Krishna Khopde, who pursued them to sanction these five flyovers. Khopde said, “Four more flyovers will come up in Nagpur in future. I have already proposed a 300-bed hospital at Wathoda also.”
MahaRail managing director Rajesh Jaiswal said, “With a vision to eliminate level crossings (LC) in Maharashtra, we are constructing 200 ROBs/RUBs and limited height subways (LHS). These projects are funded by various government agencies.”
MahaRail has opened 15 ROBs for traffic in Maharashtra as part of its efforts to reduce traffic congestion, including the opening of six ROBs at Nagpur and nine ROBs at Pune.
