Mumbai: MMRDA proposes to spend Rs 19 cr over bus lane refurbishing in BKC

The ‘dedicated' bus lane fails to serve its purpose, as the plastic dividers are a hindrance for the bus too. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

The MMRDA is not yet ready to give up entirely on its dedicated bus lane dream. So much so that the development authority is looking to spend Rs 19 crore over refurbishing the pilot project in BKC and has invited tenders for re-asphalting and re-construction of utility chambers that go along with it.

Renewed interest
MMRDA joint project director, Dilip Kawatkar, said, "The dedicated bus lanes in BKC were in bad shape due to the poor condition of roads. At few places, even the utility chambers had got damaged, and so we will be redoing them to get them in working condition again."

Over a year ago, the MMRDA had ambitiously thrown open the dedicated bus lanes in BKC. However, within a few months, the project was found to be less than successful as the plastic divider poles used to separate the regular lanes from the dedicated ones were destroyed by moving vehicles. More disheartening was the fact that the dedicated lanes were indiscriminately used by motorcyclists, auto rickshaw drivers and in some cases, even used as parking space.

This is not the first time though, that the planning body has tackled a lemon of a project.

Recall the cycling track that the body spent R6.48 crore building? It was a runaway failure, as it never managed to attract the kind of wheels that it expected to draw in. Instead, it turned into yet another parking lot for the parking lot deprived city.

Yet another example was the R700-crore undertaking to construct over 39 skywalks across the city. The idea was to provide pedestrians with a safer way to cross streets and navigate areas while profiting from advertising on the sidewalk, but it has yet again turned into a harbour for the homeless people that pedestrians avoid using.

Rs 19 cr
Amount the MMRDA proposes to spend on the bus lane refurbishing

Projects that didn't take off
>> Virtual classroom project in Mumbai Metropolitan Region
>> Pod car services between BKC and Bandra station