Mumbai: Park and ride AC bus for Ganpati's darshan at Siddhivinayak

Byline Prajakta KasaleAll the Siddhivinayak temple trust wanted was a parking solution nearby for its devotees but instead of providing a simple one the BMC went a roundabout route which hasnt made the trust very happy BMC has arranged for a parking space over two kilometres away from the temple Once devotees park there they will be able to take a special AC bus shuttle service to go to the temple The trust has expressed its displeasure with the move saying that this option will be too hectic for devoteesThe Siddhivinayak temple is one of the busiest in the city seeing a footfall of at least 60000 devotees every day The number goes up to 15 lakh on Tuesdays and Chaturthi Several devotees drive to the temple but since it does not have any parking lots they end up parking in the small lanes nearby The cars which end up blocking the roads are often towed away by the traffic police This has also led to quarrels between residents and devoteesThe public parking lot at Kohinoor Square tower which the BMC wants to allot for the purpose PicsAshish RajeNeed some spaceTo work towards a solution to this the Siddhivinayak Ganpati Temple Trust had requested the civic body to provide special parking lots for its devotees Last year Adesh Bandekar chairman of the trust approached Yashwant Jadhav BMCs standing committee chairman and Shiv Sena corporator and requested to allot parking lots for around 200 cars in the newlyconstructed buildings in the neighbourhood But the civic body was unable to help as it couldnt find such a big space around PrabhadeviHowever after it acquired the parking lot in the Kohinoor Square building in Dadar this month now the citys 29th Public Parking Lot PPL with 1008 spaces BMC decided to accommodate the trusts request there The building is over a kilometre away from the temple In addition to this BMC is also willing to introduce an AC shuttle bus service for the devoteesSeveral devotees drive to the temple but since it does not have any parking lots they end up parking in the small lanes nearbyShould be viableSpeaking to midday Kiran Dighavkar assistant municipal commissioner of G north ward said We are planning on starting an AC bus shuttle service between Kohinoor Square and Siddhivinayak temple which can be used by commuters to go to other places on the route as well It will help in solving the parking issue in the areaWe will decide on the proposal after a discussion The proposal should be viable because the buses cant ferry round the clock So we have to decide the timings and see if thats feasible for the car owners as well said Anil Patankar chairman BEST committeeBMC decided to accommodate the trustrsquos request at the PPL in Kohinoor Squares DadarTrust unimpressedThe trust is far from impressed with BMC Bandekar told midday Though the BMCs step has been taken in good faith it will not help We asked for a parking lot nearby or at least in Prabhadevi or Agar Bazar It will be hectic for people to park their car inside and then travel by bus Its not feasible60000No of devotees arriving at temple daily15 lakhNo of vehicles on Tuesdays and chaturthis1008No of slots in the new Kohinoor Square public lot24kmDistance between Kohinoor Square and templeCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates