There are certainly some things going for this initiative. It may help to relieve parking pain for locals who want to visit the temple
This picture has been used for representational purpose
The civic body has removed part of the divider on the busy Lady Jamshedji road to make way for the new special Air-Conditioned (AC) buses to Siddhivinayak temple from the Kohinoor parking lot.
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Reports in this paper, which have regularly tracked the initiative, said that locals were unhappy with the move as it may lead to further traffic chaos at the junction.
This bus though began from Wednesday after a delay over some technical issues.
There are certainly some things going for this initiative. It may help to relieve parking pain for locals who want to visit the temple.
It will also help decongest the challenging Siddhivinayak area which is choked with vehicles, both private and public, and pedestrians on their way for 'darshan'.
Residents of the area will vouch for how difficult it is to negotiate the stretch on foot. Any attempt to decongest will be welcome.
We must ensure that the A/c bus initiative is well-planned from start to finish. Too often, we see civic start ups flounder mid-way or fall apart because there has not been enough planning right from the beginning to the entire course and finish point.
Well-meaning though these efforts may be, they fall apart because certain issues may not have been factored in. On the face of it, this sounds like a welcome effort but do pay attention to locals' woes and if there is merit in them, do a re-think and re-calibrate. Factor in how people will board these buses, from where exactly and in ways that ensure orderly movement. Good signage and directions are a must.
Put the supporting system in place and running these buses, post that. Trial runs will help iron out teething trouble.
Let us have holistic vision and planning when executing all infra and traffic decongestion projects.
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