"Greater Coimbatore" will have to be created
A Greater Coimbatore will have to be created as the city is growing and the development process has to be taken to the outlying areas also, Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy told.After taking part in a meeting on the city's transportation needs, he said: "We will have to start thinking on those lines."A legal body such as a Greater Coimbatore Authority can come later."Efforts for such a system would have to begin as the city and the suburbs were growing, he said.The Chief Secretary announced the formation of five groups to study aspects of transportation and traffic systems here.They will take up individual tasks such as preparing proposals on providing solutions to road network problems, a Bus Rapid Transit System or any other form of public transport, flyovers and grade separators and multi-tier parking lots. Long-term and short-term plans for Coimbatore and Greater Coimbatore may be sought to be made.The groups will comprise officials of various departments, representatives of the public and experts in traffic and transportation systems.
The Chief Secretary announced at the meeting that an outline for an effective transport and traffic system would be ready in three months. The entire transportation system would adopt a people-oriented approach.The final plan should be ready for implementation in six months from now, he said. "Things will have to move from now. We have gone through the whole gamut of what the city needs. We know where we stand now. My visit here is to set the ball rolling.""Coimbatore has to be a world class city. So, it needs a good airport," he said in reply to questions on measures for the expansion of the airport.
"The objective is to make Coimbatore an international destination. International flights have to come. That is why there is a proposal to expand the runway."On resistance to land acquisition for runway expansion, he said the Government was alive to the needs of the people. "At the same time, should not the city have a world class and modern airport?" he asked.
