Pune-Mumbai section dropped from high speed rail corridor plan

In what would be another setback to Pune’s connectivity and railway woes, the Railway Board has decided to do away with the Pune-Mumbai section in its high speed Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor plan. The bullet train will now run only between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The board apparently took the decision due to financial constraints as the budget for the project was considerably shooting up because of the ghat section between Pune and Mumbai.

“It’s basically a Western Railway project and very little portion of Maharashtra was being covered under it. Hence, the Maharashtra government was showing little interest in the project and was also reluctant to bear a financial burden. That is the reason why the Railway Board has decided against including the Pune-Mumbai portion in the high speed corridor,” said V A Malegaonkar, Chief Public Relations Officer (PRO), Western Railway.

This would be another big blow to Pune after it got a thumbs down in the latest Union Railway Budget. The high speed corridor had a lot of significance for the city. There are a large number of businessmen who shuttle between Pune and Mumbai or Ahmedabad. The bullet train project would have brought the travel time between Pune and Mumbai down to one hour and between Pune and Ahmedabad to approximately three hours.

The project was announced in the 2009 Railway Budget but was progressing at a snail’s pace for want of funds and due to technical hurdles. Recently, the project got a shot in the arm when the Indian Railways and the Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais (SNCF), the French National Railways, signed an MoU for technical cooperation, under which a decision to carry out an ‘operations and development’ feasibility study on the high speed rail corridor was taken. SNCF also showed interest in funding the Rs 63,000-crore project with support from the country’s finance ministry.

Harsha Shah of Railway Pravasi Group said the state government still had time to act and make sure Pune was included in the project again.

“It would be a great misfortune for the city if it misses this opportunity. The state government should immediately approach the Railway Board with an attractive proposal such as easy land acquisition or funds. The project is vital for growth and development of the city and if Pune is kept out of it, it would be a huge loss to the city and its citizens,” said Shah.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/punemumbai-section-dropped-from-high-speed-rail-corridor-plan/1086191/0

City to get water from Mulshi dam

After Panshet, Varasgaon, Khadakwasla and Bhama Askhed, the state will for the first time tap water from Mulshi dam on the Mula river to meet the demand of the fast-growing Pune city, which has been reeling under severe water shortage for the past few years.

Congress MLC Mohan Joshi on Tuesday said the state government has given an assurance in the House to tap Mulshi dam to meet the increased water demand of the city.

In response to the issue raised in the state legislative council, Joshi said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had clarified that there was no scope for building a new dam to meet the requirements of the city.

“The state government would tap water from Mulshi dam, keeping in view the increase in demand in the next 30 years. The agreement with Tata Power Company has not been revised in the last 100 years and it would be done keeping in mind the water demands of the city,” Pawar assured the House.
The Deputy Chief Minister, reiterating that the state government is committed to meeting the water demand of Pune, mentioned that the PMC has the responsibility of recycling sewer water before releasing it into the river so that it can be used for agricultural purposes.

Thus, the PMC should start sewage treatment plants with full capacity and ensure 6.5 TMC of treated water is released into the river as per the agreement with the irrigation department. The irrigation department presently provides 16 TMC to PMC to meet its drinking water demand.
Joshi said he has urged the state government to allow 5 TMC water to be drawn from Mulshi dam to meet the increased demand of the city.

The Congress MLC further said that he raised the issue as the city was growing at a fast pace with an increase in population. The state has already merged 23 villages with PMC and would soon be merging 28 more.

Earlier, water resources minister Krishna Valley Development Corporation, Ramraje Nimbalkar, said the state government has decided to provide 2.67 TMC from Bhama Askhed dam to Pune and it would be increased by one TMC as per need.

The PMC currently draws water from the Panshet, Varasgaon, Khadakwasla and Bhama Askhed dams. The city has been facing water shortage for the last few years and the civic body had to impose water cuts in summer to ensure that supply lasts until monsoon refills the dams.

Source :- http://www.indianexpress.com/news/city-to-get-water-from-mulshi-dam/1087244/0z