The Problem of Transport in Maharashtra
Wednesday, 19 May 2010 18:57 | 
Written by Kiran Patil
I always had the impression that Maharashtra was quite good in transportation. Probably because I have not traveled extensively in the South, or like many others I have always compared transportation in Maharashtra to the states in North India. No I am not talking about traveling within a city (I have given up on the chances of any improvement in that - it takes about 1 hour to travel 7-8 km during peak traffic time in Mumbai due to traffic jams); I am talking about traveling in the rural areas.
I had series of discussions with Dr. T Karunakaran and Regi Thomas last week regarding the transportation scenario in rural Maharashtra, as a result of which I got a chance to understand the scenario in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There are three experiences I would like to share here, which make it evident that the transportation scenario in Maharashtra needs to be improved:
1. I went to visit Yusuf Meharally Center near Karnala Bird Sanctuary in Raigad in March 2010. While returning (it was about 12 noon), I had to wait for almost 1 hour to get any transportation up to Panvel. The express state transport buses wont stop at the bus stop I was at. No local state transport bus came in that one hour. All the private autos that came were full (10 people in each). No one stopped to give lift. I should mention here that I was on the Mumbai Goa Highway!
2. I went to a trek in April 2010 to Mahuli fort, which is about 7 km from Asangaon. We got down at Asangaon station and were looking for autos to go to the base village Mahuli. We were 6 people and to our amusement the autowalas which normally take 10 people in their auto refused to take 6 in one auto and asked us to travel by two autos. For each auto they quoted us Rs. 150 that mean Rs. 300 for in all. We quickly decided to walk to the base village. We later learned that the bus fare is Rs. 4 per person to the base village. In Wardha too, a tourist is quoted a very high price for a special auto.
3. I was traveling in Ashti taluka of Wardha last week and learned that one of the major problems quoted by people in many villages was poor transportation. They have good roads connecting their village to the nearby business centers, but low frequency of bus and private vehicles, especially in summer. (In summers, as soon as schools are closed the frequency of bus is reduced by the state transport department!). The villagers didn't complain about certain things, probably because their presence is taken for granted with the belief - such is life. People have to wait for 15-20 minutes and sometimes 1-2 hours to get transport. People have to sit crowded in the private vehicles with 10-12 people in the six seater auto and 16-20 people in sumos and similar vehicles. People have to make special arrangements for transporting goods or have to wait for 8-10 hours for a private goods carrier that goes to their village. People have to shelve out at least 1 Re per km for traveling and many times more.
If this is a good transportation system, then there is certainly something wrong with our way of thinking.
The poor transportation system in Maharashtra in now becoming a limiting factor for the growth of rural economy. As Regi says "A villager who wants to go to a nearby village to mill his grains will find it wiser to purchase milled Aata from the local shop brought from nearby city" thereby destroying the local service economy and increasing poverty in the villagers as the money from the villages is going out for silly things.
Last Updated (Wednesday, 19 May 2010 20:10)