21 hours Ago By Alim Shaikh
Pune: Two facilities to accommodate 135 trucks and 81 trailers at Talegaon and Chakan MIDCs are nearing completion and likely to be operational before April 2025, a senior MIDC official said. The two facilities are being built at Talegaon MIDC Phase II and Floriculture Park in Talegaon. The new terminals would help in decongesting roads, particularly the Pune-Mumbai highway and Chakan-Talegaon road, to a large extent, the official said, adding that the members of the transport association and industries were raising this issue with the state govt for a long time.
The raising concerns led to the MIDC started building the two termminals last year. Sanjay Kotwad, the executive engineer of MIDC, said, "The construction of these terminals would reduce roadside halting of heavy vehicles to a large extent and that would further reduce the number of accidents associated with such issues." He further added that both of these terminals would have facilities like service centres, canteens, dormitories and toilets for drivers and owners of these vehicles.
The terminal being built at Floriculture Park in Talegaon is spread over an area of around 11,200 square metres (2.76 acres). It can accommodate 56 trucks and 12 trailers.
Similarly, the truck terminal at Phase II of Talegaon MIDC is spread over an area of around 40,000 square metres (10 acres). It can accommodate 79 trucks and 69 trailers. A senior MIDC official said they would soon initiate a tendering process to appoint an agency to operate these terminals.
The drivers and owners of the vehicles are charged nominal rates to avail the facility. Baba Shinde, the president of the maharashtra state goods and passengers transport association, said the MIDC should start preparations to set up a few more truck terminals around Chakan and Talegaon because the number of vehicles in these places is high. The two MIDCs host a large number of multinational firms and the current infrastructure would be inadequate to fulfil the needs, he said.
"In some companies, the loading and unloading take two to three days and the vehicle driver or owner has to wait either at the company or outside on the road if there was not enough space inside to accommodate too many vehicles. In such situations, truck terminals were the best facilities," he said. Shinde said the drivers or owners were charged around Rs 70 to 80 for a night halt at other terminals like those in Mumbai, and they are affordable for the truck owners.
Dilip Batwal, the secretary of the federation of Chakan industries, said, "Considering the need, there was a need to have two more such truck terminals, including one at Chakan and one at Talegaon. Since many vehicles now halt along the road, blind spots are created, which lead to accidents." Graphics Truck Terminal at Floriculture Park, Talegaon Area: 11,200 square metres (2.
76 acres) Capacity: Can accommodate 56 trucks and 12 trailers Truck Terminal at Phase II of Talegaon MIDC Area: 40,000 square metres (10 acres) Capacity: can accomodate 79 trucks and 69 trailers Quote: The construction of these terminals would reduce roadside halting of heavy vehicles to a large extent and that would further reduce the number of accidents associated with such issues Sanjay Kotwad | executive engineer of MIDC Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword ..
