(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: Urban Mobility & Public Transport

Topic: Urban Mobility & Public Transport

Guest:

Sudhir Krishna, (Former Union Secretary, Urban Development)
Prof. P. K. Sarkar, (Transport Planning Expert)
Anil Srivastava, (Former Principal Adviser, NITI Aayog)

Topic Description:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the construction of the Agra Metro Project in a virtual ceremony held on Monday. Following the inauguration, the PM said that the metro project worth Rs 8,000 crore will strengthen the mission related to the establishment of smart facilities in Agra. The Prime Minister said that more than Rs 100 lakh crore will be spent under the National Infrastructure Pipeline Project. Work is also being done on the Multi-modal Connectivity Infrastructure Master Plan. He added that efforts are on to attract investment from all over the world to improve the country's infrastructure. Meanwhile, union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri last month said Covid-19 could lead to behavioral change in urban mobility and also give an opportunity to align urban transport towards long term development goals. With social distancing norms and other precautions in place due to the pandemic, cities are seeing a rise in transport options like cycling. The pandemic has also led to a decline in the use of public transport across the world. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, 90% of all reported covid-19 cases are from urban areas which have become the epicenter of the pandemic.