Elevated Railways In Mumbai

In a city like Mumbai, ease of commutation tops the wish-list of almost everybody.  ‘Traffic Jam’ – is one of those words that is dreaded by all. To solve this woe of the Mumbaikars, Gurudas Kamat in 2009 made a plea to have an Elevated Railway System for Mumbai. To ensure expansion of the Railway Network, he wanted this elevated system for both the Western and the Central Railway. Kamat ji was sure that this step will ease the problems of the commuters.

Elevated railway system is of immense importance especially if one considers a metropolitan city such as Mumbai. It is a concept which has been successfully implemented in countries like Netherlands. In a land deficit city like Mumbai, the concept could prove to be really beneficiary if implemented. Some of you might would confuse the elevated railway system with the metro or the elevated monorail that has been recently introduced in Mumbai however, it is entirely different from both. An elevated railway is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other steel, concrete or brick structure. It is somewhat like the metro, only much bigger and better.

Initially, the elevated railway was implemented only for the Western line but it was Kamat ji’s foresightedness that led to the approval of the east and the central line too. His consistent follow-up has yielded results and an approximate Rs 21000 Crore Elevated Railway for Mumbai on the Western Railway from Virar to Churchgate and an Elevated Railway from Panvel to CST has also been cleared by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Railway Minister and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Prithviraj Chavan.

The Chief Minister too has acknowledged Kamat ji’s contribution to getting the Elevated Railway Project for Mumbai time and again. Kamat ji has ensured commencement of a number of long distance trains to meet the demands of Mumbaikars, travelling to the farthest corners in the South, North and Eastern parts of the state.

This is why Kamat ji is a highly respected MP. Once he decides on a project that will help the people, he never gives up. Kamat ji pursues the cause till the very end and makes sure that the project is fully implemented. 

Gurudas Kamat’s MPLAD Report Card

A Member of Parliament is directly responsible for the growth and development of the residents of any constituency. He/she is answerable to the people and by serving them, the MP restores the peoples’ faith in the system. This is the very favour of the democratic framework of our country. And this is exactly what Gurudas Kamat ji does.

In the earlier blogs, I did talk about the Jan Samparks Kamat ji holds (http://bit.ly/1hxiBPB ) to interact with the people. If we talk about growth and development, the most important thing here is – funds.  A MP can utilise MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund) for the same. Kamat ji had recommended development works through the MPLAD totaling about Rs 2085.46 Lakhs which were available in the last 5 years in different parts of the Constituency as per the suggestions received from the citizens residing in the constituency to the Collector Mumbai Suburban District. No balance remains as the fund was fully utilized. He also persuaded other Rajya Sabha MPs including Avinash Pandey (Rs. 111.25 Lakhs) Rajiv Shukla (Rs 57.5 Lakhs) and Shri Balachandra Mungekar (Rs 32.5 Lakhs) to accept the recommendations for the benefit of the residents of the area.

The letter from the District Collector's Office Mumbai Suburban District clearly states that they have given Administrative Sanction to 100% of Kamat ji’s MPLAD works hence utilizing all funds allocated to him for his term from 2009-2013.

Gurudas Kamat amongst the 50-member Congress Election Campaign Committee

The Lok Sabha polls are most likely to be held in the month of April and May and the new government is expected to be formed by the end of May. Keeping this in view, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has decided to head the party's campaign committee for the Lok Sabha elections which has 50 members including party vice-president Rahul Gandhi as the co-chairman.

Shri Gurudas Kamat is the only member from Mumbai to be included in the 50-member committee. Shri Sushilkumar Shinde and Shri Gurudas Kamat will play a pivotal role in designing and executing the party’s election campaign in Maharashtra.

Being included in the party’s campaign committee was only natural. Shri Kamat's political career is marked by absolute fearlessness. He has time and again voiced strong criticism against communal and divisive forces. He has relentlessly pursued the development of Mumbai city in particular and Maharashtra in general and has stood up for the downtrodden masses time and time again.

Staunch loyalty to the values and leadership of Indian National Congress, sheer dedication to people's work and uncompromising commitment to secularism is Kamat ji’s political style. Kamat ji by providing his expertise and knowledge will add immense value to the overall party campaign.

Sahar Elevated Road and Underpass Project

In the last blog ( http://bit.ly/NxjZof ) I talked about the Sahar elevated road project but I had got the inauguration date wrong. Firstly, I apologise for the confusion that was created. Secondly, the date of inauguration of the project is 12^th February, 2014. Although I talked about the project in the last blog, I will like to expand a little more on it in this one.

The Sahar Elevated Access Road is a dedicated, elevated, express access road in the financial capital of India, Mumbai. It connects the Western Express Highway (WEH) near Hanuman Nagar junction in Vile Parle to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal T2.

The elevated road facilitates easier and quicker access to the commuters proceeding to and from the airport. The 3.3 km long access road has 4 entry and 2 exit points. The road also includes an underpass for vehicles travelling on the WEH and a pedestrian subway as well as an underpass, a tunnel, and ramps connecting the highway to the terminal which bypasses the congested roadways below.

Developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) under its Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) it was approved by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM) which is a central Government scheme.

After the brand new World Class Airport Terminal T2, the Monorail and soon to begin Metro services for the city, the Sahar Elevated Road project is indeed another feather in the city’s growth story. AICC General Secretary and MP Shri Gurudas Kamat has expressed happiness and has congratulated MMRDA for another infrastructural achievement towards making Mumbai a world class city.