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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Raj snarls at Mumbai traffic chaos

Mumbai: Coming down heavily on Mumbai’s traffic woes, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray said India may boast of a 7.8 pc GDP growth, but what use is a booming economy if citizens struggle to even walk safely on the roads, here on Monday. In scathing inaugural address of the MNS Vahatuk Sena conference in Navi Mumbai, Raj took in a bird’ eye-view and took potshots at the city, state and Centre on urban traffic problems, vanishing footpaths, incessant number of vehicles...

Raj snarls at Mumbai traffic chaos

Mumbai: Coming down heavily on Mumbai’s traffic woes, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray said India may boast of a 7.8 pc GDP growth, but what use is a booming economy if citizens struggle to even walk safely on the roads, here on Monday. In scathing inaugural address of the MNS Vahatuk Sena conference in Navi Mumbai, Raj took in a bird’ eye-view and took potshots at the city, state and Centre on urban traffic problems, vanishing footpaths, incessant number of vehicles spilling onto the already clogged roads, lack of civic or traffic disciplines and unplanned development activities in cities. “Norms stipulate that road should account for 15pc of a city’s total area. But, for example, in Pune, roads comprise barely 7pc of the landscape,” Raj pointed out, slamming the local and state governments for doling out FSI indiscriminately and permitting buildings to mushroom without matching infrastructure. “We have development plans that cater to builders’ interests, but there is no town planning… This is why we are suffering… Should be lick the GDP growth?” he asked sarcastically. Raj claimed that we are busy building bridges and flyovers in the name of development but without adequately assessing the actual requirements, roads are built to last only two years after which they need repairs, natural lakes are being filled up and replaced with skyscrapers, damaging the cityscape, and leading to water shortages. Dwelling on traffic discipline and the government’s apparent inability to enforce it, the MNS chief point out how trucks and tempos routinely ply on the extreme right (fast) lane flouting rules mandating them to be on the left (slow) lanes, how vehicles are randomly parked at street corners obstructing traffic and posing accident hazards, and how intrepid two-wheeler riders believe “that traffic signals are meant for four-wheelers alone”. “When there are traffic signals everywhere, there are also traffic cops… What is the need for this? Why can’t we learn from developed countries where everybody scrupulously adheres to road discipline... I have instructed all my drivers including the police escort vehicles to stick to traffic discipline, come what may,” Raj declared. He shuddered at the mere thought that if Mumbai’s local train networks ever collapsed – there have been many instances in the past – lakhs of commuters would be forced to take out their own vehicles and the city could be completely paralysed. “I have already written to the CM, Deputy CMs and the BMC authorities on the need to curb illegal parking on roads/pavements, demarcate parking zones with red-blue or yellow-black stripes, and make the people aware of it. But nothing has been done on this,” he rued. “Citizens fail to follow traffic rules, the government fails to enforce them, new vehicles are coming onto the roads daily but when there are traffic jams, fingers are pointed at the traffic police,” said Raj. Give me power Ending on a stark political track, Thackeray said creating an orderly civic structure was hardly “rocket science”. “I am eagerly waiting to see the day when the people of Maharashtra will hand over the reins of power to me. I will bring in true order to the state. Enforcing discipline is not a rocket science, it just requires political will,” Raj concluded in a dare.

Discussions on among allies for govt formation: Ajit Pawar

Correspondent
Nov 26, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

Ajit Pawar

Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister and NCP head Ajit Pawar on Monday said discussions were underway among the Mahayuti partners to finalise a formula for the new government formation in the state.


Speaking to reporters at Karad in Satara district, Pawar also acknowledged the contribution of the government's Ladki Bahin scheme, which provides financial assistance to women, in the Mahayuti's victory in the just-concluded state assembly polls.


The NCP leader also assured that the alliance was working cohesively following its resounding victory in the state assembly elections.


Pawar paid tributes to Maharashtra's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan at his memorial in Karad on his death anniversary.


In the state poll results declared on Saturday, the Mahayuti, which comprises the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, bagged an impressive 230 of the 288 assembly seats.


The focus has been on BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is being seen as a strong contender to occupy the top post for the third time, as his party bagged 132 of the 149 seats it contested in the state.


Notably, Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar has said his party legislators feel Eknath Shinde should continue as the chief minister of the state, where the ruling Mahayuti scored a landslide victory in the assembly polls.


Ajit Pawar said, "We will decide what formula to work out on the cabinet formation among the three parties."


Reflecting on the elections, he acknowledged the contribution of the Ladki Bahin scheme in the Mahayuti's win.


"We cannot ignore that Ladki Bahin helped us in this election. We are grateful to them (women voters)," he said.


Defending the scheme, Pawar, who is also the state finance minister, further said, "Had I been opposed to the Ladki Bahin scheme, I would not have presented it in the House. I discussed the scheme with several retired finance officers before finalising it."


Pawar also dismissed concerns raised by some opposition leaders over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), pointing out that polls in states like Punjab, West Bengal and Telangana, governed by their political opponents, have been conducted with the same system.


Commenting on members of same families contesting against each other during the elections, Pawar expressed annoyance over repeated questions on it.


He then asked, "Why was my close nephew fielded? Atram's own daughter was fielded against him, and even Rajendra Shingne faced a similar challenge. I don't want to comment further on this. I have got tired of apologising for fielding my wife against Supriya. Yugendra was in business, then why was he prepared to contest against me?"


In the Baramati assembly seat, Ajit Pawar was pitted against his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar.


In Aheri seat, NCP leader Dharamraobaba Atram's daughter Bhagyashree Atram contested against him on NCP (SP) ticket.

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