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.

Sahar Elevated Road To Be Inaugurated

Mumbai is set to witness the inauguration of the Sahar elevated road on 11^th February, 2014. The elevated road will connect Western Express Highway (WEH) with Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport’s (CSIA) new Terminal 2.

The project is implemented jointly by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Mumbai International Airport Private Limited and stretches 3.3km between WEH and CSIA.  These lanes will also have plantations on both the sides for aesthetic purpose.

The signal-free elevated road starts from Hanuman Road junction, Vile Parle (East) and goes straight to Terminal 2. Reaching CSIA was cumbersome earlier as the approach roads to the airport are very narrow and congested. A distance of about 4-5km from the highway to the airport requires about 40-45 minutes, crossing through Sambhaji Nagar, Rajaram Wadi, NAD Colony, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagar, Bamanwada, Sahar Post and Telegraph Colony, GVK Residential Colony and further on the busy Sahar road at Marol Pipeline junction. The Sahar elevated road will put an end to this woe and provide a better alternative for the commuters.

Gurudas kamat ji is extremely happy as a new a chapter has been added to the growth story of Mumbai. We hope that Mumbai grows stronger and stronger with such initiatives. 

Constituency Manifesto

Gurudas Kamat has always believed in the style of politics that includes the voice of the people. He is indeed the leader of the masses and his initiatives reflect the same. 

To take these efforts forward, Gurudas Kamat has introduced a 'Constituency Manifesto' wherein you can voice out and help Kamat ji to help you in a much organised way. You can fill this form (http://bit.ly/1ewTOaH) and submit a petition regarding an issue of your area. It is your time to make your opinion count. With the help of this form you can also sign up to receive the SMS updates from Kamat ji. This is how democracy functions. People are and shall always be the integral part of it. 

Constituency Manifesto Form 

So, what are you waiting for? Tell us what Mumbai needs. Send your suggestions on manifesto@gurudaskamat.com or on Kamat ji's website at http://manifesto.gurudaskamat.com/ 

Shri. Kamat seeks power tariff cut in Mumbai

Shri Gurudas Kamat, Member of Parliament, Mumbai North West and AICC General Secretary and CWC Member , has written to the Honorable CM Shri Prithviraj Chavan and Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to address the rising concern of the citizens of Mumbai over regular Hikes in Electricity rates by Private Electricity providers. He has urged to provide “Open Access”- Choice of Electricity Provider to Mumbai Citizens. The move will give a choice to the consumer to select any provider offering better services or rates.

He has also mentioned that the TATA Electric Company Rates are nearly Rs 2 per unit less than the other company in the Market, upto a consumption of 300 units. He has made a request that all Consumers whose electricity consumption is upto 300 units may be allowed to switch to TATA Electric Company.

He has taken such a step to ensure that the citizens of Mumbai will benefit from this shift and their growing concerns could be addressed in a coherent manner. As far as MSEDCL consumers are concerned, they will benefit from 20% subsidy announced by the government last month. This will, in fact, neutralise the 20% hike expected in tariff for Mahavitran consumers from April 1. Nearly 20 lakh consumers/households could benefit from this migration and save a huge amount (upto 35%) in their electricity bills. The step is a testimony to the fact that Mr. Kamat has the conviction to seek the best interest of the people. 

Mumbai Gets Country's First Monorail

The country's first monorail had a dream debut as around 20,000 Mumbaikars converged on the stations to take a ride. I am sure that the commuters were happy as it took merely 20 minutes from Wadala to Chembur which otherwise takes twice the time to cover the stretch by road during peak hours. 

India’s first monorail has indeed rolled out in style and how! The first of its kind in the country, to enhance clean urban transport, Gurudas Kamat’s persistent efforts resulted in the approval and sanctioning of the mono rail project. So, today as the people in Mumbai are celebrating the arrival of monorail, I would like to thank Kamat ji and his party workers for making this a reality. 

Here are the few things that you need to know about the Mumbai monorail:

·   -  The monorail will run every 15 minutes between 7 am and 3 pm. At its fastest, it will run at 80 kilometres per hour; the average speed is set at 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph).

·   - The monorail will be linked to major local train stations. So the station at Chembur is connected with a skywalk to the monorail station near it.

·   -  All coaches of the monorail trains are air-conditioned; each train can carry 560 passengers.

·    - Tickets are priced between Rs. 5 and Rs. 11.

·   -    There will be no monthly passes like the ones on Mumbai's lifeline, the local trains, but there will be a system of smart cards.

Mr. Gurudas Kamat’s initiative has yielded wonderful results and has eased the commuting process. The next time you visit Mumbai don’t forget to travel in the pink and blue coaches.