'Tata Nano disturbed urban road transport, contributed to traffic congestion'

New Delhi: Minister of State for Road, Transport, Highway and Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said Tata Motor`s Nano car disturbed the urban road transport by adding to the traffic congestion.

"Though homegrown automaker Tata Motors introduced its Nano car within a price bracket of Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for middle class buyers, but in a way it disturbed urban road transport by only adding to the traffic congestion," said Mandaviya at the inauguration of Assocham`s event on `Sustainable Urban Road Transport`.

The Minister pointed to the need for celebrities and `VVIPs` to ride bicycles to promote more sustainable and friendly form of urban mobility.

"Increasing number of celebrities and VVIPs should ride bicycles to promote a more sustainable and friendly form of urban mobility. More influential people should begin to embrace the bicycle as an alternative for stimulating a more sustainable urban mobility," said Mandaviya. 

In addition, Mandaviya elaborated on the need to promote inland water transport. 

He stated that there is a need to come up with indigenous model based on traditional ways and means as that would be more apt for Indian conditions.

"It is not necessary that a model which has been successful in a particular country will also prove to be fruitful for India... we need to devise our own model to tackle our problems," he said.