Ready to run, but yet to roll: Undue delay in Hinjewadi Metro launch frustrates IT professionals

Pune: For thousands of IT professionals battling Hinjewadi’s notorious traffic every day, one question comes up almost every single day: Why is a Metro line that is largely ready still not running?Hopes for the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro launch soared after PM Narendra Modi’s proposed Baramati visit on Nov 3. With the visit now deferred, the launch is again in limbo. For Hinjewadi IT park employees, it is not about an inauguration, it is about reclaiming hours lost to gridlocked traffic, cratered roads and draining daily commutes.“The Metro has been ready for months, but it’s still awaiting a VIP inauguration. CM Devendra Fadnavis said he invited the PM, yet no launch date has been set. If the PM could inaugurate a 14-km partial Metro stretch in Chennai, why not the 12-km Hinjewadi stretch that has been idle for four to five months?” asked Pavanjit Mane of the Forum for IT Employees.Hinjewadi-bound commuters said the daily travel was becoming particularly frustrating due to traffic bottlenecks, narrow underpasses and pothole-riddled roads. IT employees said the Metro could significantly reduce the burden. Anita Jangid, who travels from Baner to Hinjewadi Phase 3, said the undue wait had already altered her life.After months of hoping the Metro would begin operations, she eventually purchased a car. “I didn’t want to buy one,” Jangid said. “But after waiting eight to nine months, I had no choice. Driving through the traffic every day is exasperating. If Metro had started, I would have happily used public transport instead,” she said.Her story reflects a larger irony unfolding across Pune’s IT corridor. While a modern rapid transit system stands ready on large stretches of the route, commuters continue to spend money on private vehicles because the alternative remains out of reach. “It feels like inaugural programmes are taking priority over people’s problems. A public transport service should begin serving the public the moment it is ready, not when a dignitary is available,” Mane said.The 23.3-km Metro Line 3 has already secured clearance for 17 of its 23 stations. Inspections of two more stations near Balewadi have been completed and approvals are expected soon, which would increase the number of cleared stations to 19. Only four stations remain pending approval.The service’s public launch stalled after Oct due to the Maharashtra Legislative Council election model code of conduct in Pune division.