Pune: With roads in the central city areas cordoned off to vehicles amid Ganeshotsav celebrations, numerous residents opted to take Metro rides to commute this weekend as they headed to visit pandals. Over 6.9 lakh commuters travelled by Metro on Saturday and Sunday, with the Mandai and PMC stations recording the maximum rush. As many as 3.3 lakh commuters used the service on Sunday and 3.6 lakh on Saturday, which was also the highest single-day footfall recorded by Pune Metro so far. This is the first year that Metro is operating its services in central city areas during Ganeshotsav. Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) also extended train operations till 2am from Saturday to manage the rush. Arrangements have been made at Mandai and other Metro stations to control the crowd and help commuters purchase tickets seamlessly. Aundh Road resident Nikhil Kadam was among many travellers who opted for a Metro ride over the weekend to step out for Ganapati darshan. Thite said, “My family and I boarded the Metro train at Bopodi Metro station and travelled to PMC Metro station, from where we went ahead and visit pandals. On the way back, we boarded the train from Mandai Metro station. We saw throngs of people queuing up at this hub to board trains. It is good that public transport is proving helpful.” Maha Metro officials confirmed that people travelled in large numbers from PCMC, Swargate, and other Metro stations. An official told TOI, “We have appealed to visitors to get down at PMC and Kasba Peth Metro stations to embark on their visits to Ganesh pandals and begin return journeys from Mandai. This is suggested to avoid crowding at Mandai Metro station.” In the wake of increased footfall, commuters also said that Maha Metro should attach more coaches to trains, as existing three-coach trains are packed to the brim. Vishal Kale, a resident of Shivajinagar, said, “This is the right time to either introduce more coaches or operate trains at a higher frequency.” Another Maha Metro official told TOI on condition of anonymity, “There is a plan to operate trains every three minutes depending on the rush.” CM inaugurates new cable-stayed bridge On Monday, a cable-stayed bridge connecting Chhatrapati Sambhaji Garden Metro station to Shaniwar Peth near Omkareshwar Temple was opened for commuters. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the bridge, which has been constructed parallel to the Balgandharva bridge. The structure will provide a direct connection from Jangli Maharaj (JM) Road to the Peth areas.
