CB Bureau‘To meet the challenges of congestion, pollution and fuel consumption, India needs to do better urban planning and management. We need to have a better public transport system that can appeal people and encourage them to minimally use their private vehicles. Absence of mass transport and transit system results in city dwellers depending on private transportation,’ said President Pratibha Patil while laying the foundation stone of a new Metro railway line in Kolkata.
The president appreciated the Metro system, saying, ‘it is an effective system to commute, giving the people a convenient, comfortable and an
affordable mode of travel.’
The president said the urban population across the world is increasing and according to assessments, the cities will be the dominant human habitats in the 21st century.
‘Between 1991 and 2001, there was an addition of 68 million to our
urban population, marking a growth rate of about 31 per cent and taking the
number of city dwellers to 286 million,’ Patil said.
‘Growing urbanisation calls for planning ahead for the future, by
focusing on issues of urban management and urban governance. Moreover, as the population of cities grow, it is essential to have mass transport and transit systems that facilitate movement within the city,’ she added.
Commit not to drive on January 30, 2011: http://www.causebecause.com/nodrivingday.php