No More Travel Woes, PCMC Peeps! Pune Metro Finally Extended Up To Nigdi

Giving a major relief to the residents of Nigdi and Pimpri Chinchwad, the state government has decided to extend the metro route all the way to Nigdi.

metroCommuters travelling to and fro from Nigdi to Pimpri-Chinchwad will be able to kick their traffic woes goodbye in the next two years as authorities have decided to extend the metro route till Nigdi. In a recent meeting presided over by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey, the state cabinet has approved one elevated route on the Pimpri-Nigdi Corridor. As per the release, the old route from Pimpri to Swargate has been revised and an additional route has been added Over 4.95 lakh commuters are expected to ride on this route by 2023 and there will be three stations on this route: Nigdi, Akurdi and Chinchwad. This 4.41 kilometers extended metro route will be implemented by Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) and will require a total expenditure of Rs 946.76 crore. However, the state government will only be paying Rs 170.3 crore i.e. ten percent of the funds.

metroThe decision is yet to go to the Central government for the final approval. Pune Metro spokesperson Hemant Sonawane informed, "The Centre had earlier given in-principle approval to the route extension and conveyed that it would provide 10 percent of the funds for the extended route.” Since the Central government had promised that it would give 10 percent funds and state and the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation will give 30 percent funds, Pune Metro will be raising 60 percent funds as a loan.

metroThe locals of the area had been protesting and demanding for this extension since 2013 and the decision has been warmly welcomed by them. Explaining how the extension will help thousands of commuters travelling from Pimpri to Nigdi, Advocate Sushil Mancharkar, a resident of Nehru Nagar told The Indian Express, “The three suburbs provide a major chunk of the commuter population. If someone boards a bus from Pimpri, the next major stop is only at Kasarwadi. Phugewadi and Dapodi do not have much of a commuter crowd. Therefore, starting the metro from Pimpri made sense. Only till Nigdi, however, It would be ensured that a large population of Pimpri-Chinchwad travels by the metro”
Seems like acche din are just around the corner for Nigdi residents.
News Source: The Indian Express

MORE