Cinema hall at GK-II bottleneck to reopen

NEW DELHI: With the single-screen Savitri Cinema in GK-II scheduled to open in six months, the residents of the already maddeningly congested area are bracing for a traffic nightmare.
The Savitri complex is located on a bend where the traffic from Outer Ring Road turns towards GK-II. The main entrance is right on this bend and cars going inside invariably cause a pile-up.The complex has a car service centre, studios, a liquor shop and other facilities. Any addition to this traffic can only worsen things and make it a permanent bottleneck. This will have an impact on traffic right up to Chirag Dilli and make life hell for residents of GK-II, Alaknanda, Tara Apartments, Masjid Moth and Chittaranjan Park. The area has a large number of schools and this road is virtually the only access to them.
The traffic police admit they are struggling to control jams. "Once the cinema opens, more vehicles will be entering the complex over a longer period of time. This will add to our troubles. It's the entry point to several colonies and there are also pubs and eateries nearby. The traffic on this part of Outer Ring Road has risen over the past few years. Widening the road is the only solution," said a senior traffic police officer.
The developer of the cinema hall, DLF Ltd, was issued a no-objection certificate by the traffic department in 2008. "The requirements under the master plan have been met. So, we issued an NOC," said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Satyendra Garg.
Traffic officials say there's no provision in the masterplan to strike down an NOC on the basis of traffic congestion. "We have to look into the imminent chaos. We are considering road-widening measures as it suddenly narrows down from a four-lane to two-and-a-half lane road," a police officer said. How the road here will be widened is anybody's guess. The authorities have been struggling to keep traffic flowing just after Chirag Dilli on Outer Ring Road as the road narrows down into a chicken neck, and now this.
The residents are living in apprehension. "If a car stops by the roadside, there's a ripple effect till the Outer Ring Road. Once the complex opens, you can be sure there will be huge jams," said Aditi Subramaniam, a resident of GK-II. This is like the jams that the road in front of Select Citywalk mall witnesses daily. Regular commuters complain that kilometre-long jams are routine at Savitri. The chaos increases when traffic moves into GK-II from Savitri, said residents.
"The cinema hall has a seating capacity of 300. Show timings have not been decided yet. The parking lot can accommodate 97 cars. This includes parking for both cinema and the commercial area," said Sanjay Roy, vice-president of corporate communications for DLF.
He said, "Internal traffic circulation is being planned keeping the existing entrance and exit points under consideration. Since the cinema is shut now, no special traffic measures are required. Such measures will be adopted before opening the cinema to the public."
The project was given an NOC by traffic police in 2008 on the condition that Gate 1 of the complex will be shut, entry allowed from Gate 2 (on the same road, a few metres ahead) and exit facilitated from Gates 3 and 4 at the rear. But even if Gate 2 is thrown open for entry, there will be a tailback of cars. If exit is offered from Gate nos 3 and 4, it will lead traffic into a congested GK II lane.