Under Shahdara flyover, chaos goes into overdrive

Vidya Menon / TNN / Nov 21, 2005, 02:19 IST

Share

AA

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

Rickshaws and autorickshaws have taken over the road space for parking and vendors add to the mess.

Under Shahdara flyover, chaos goes into overdrive

NEW DELHI: Did you say flyovers are the best way out of Delhi's chaotic traffic? Chances are you have never been anywhere near the Shahdara-Dilshad Garden flyover.
Anarchy rules the 2.34-km stretch below the flyover �� missing traffic lights, encroachments, potholes and incomplete service roads all add up to constant traffic snarls here.
"The situation is so bad that one can't even cross the road at times.A subway would actually make life a lot easier," says Sandeep, a Delhi University employee.
The condition is particularly bad at Railway Road and Loni Road crossings. Rickshaws and autorickshaws have taken over the road space for parking and vendors add to the mess.

"A traffic light will solve all these problems. As there is no such arrangement, people drive as they please. The fact that policemen can't always be present has made matters worse," says Satpal Arora, an autorickshaw driver living in the area for 40 years now.
"I have seen this place in a mess since I came here five years ago. Sometimes the situation is so bad that beggars from the nearby Shiv Hanuman Mandir step in to manage traffic," says Rajkumar, a cobbler at Railway Road chowk.

So where are the policemen? "These roads are usually managed by Delhi Police. But they are unlikely to initiate action against encroachers as they are bribed," alleges Harinder Verma, a local businessman.
"Kab tak hatayen, kitna hatayen? (How many encroachments can we clear and for how long?) We tow away 20-30 rickshaws and TSRs every day but it doesn't help," says police constable Pramod Malik.
Both the police and Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD) admit that the problem is acute but stop short of offering a concrete solution.
Says Qamar Ahmed, joint commissioner of police (traffic), "The stretch is so congested that no amount of efforts will solve the problem. To begin with, the road capacity is not adequate to deal with the flow of traffic.
Encroachments also create problems for the heterogeneous and slow-moving traffic in the area." But what about residents' allegations that traffic policemen are missing?
"If traffic cops are absent because of some reason, the local police can take over. There's no problem in that," suggests Ahmed. The MCD says it is aware of the problem.
"Encroachments are removed every now and then but they keep coming back," says Ashok Kumar, district commissioner, Shahdara (north). The irony is that a solution is very much in sight. Only, it is ignored.
Construction of service roads on both sides along the ramp portion of the flyover will ease the chaos to a great extent. But the project has been lying unattended for years now.
"Once the service roads become functional, traffic near the crossings, especially the Loni Road one, will get smoother.
Though we keep hearing of new deadlines for its completion, nothing has happened yet," says a police officer posted near the flyover.
"The problem started when property owners along the service roads started making unreasonable demands. They refused to give land unless we gave them property in Shahdara itself. That was not possible.
However, in November 2003, fresh notifications for acquisitions were passed and the property owners agreed to settle for monetary compensation.
Modalities are being worked out and the service roads will be constructed by June 2006," assures R K Meena, MCD's engineer-in-chief.
Meanwhile, similar Loni Road crossings are in the making underneath the Metro flyover in Shahdara, with a number of vendors having already moved in.

About the Author

Vidya Menon

A deskie, she finds copy errors particularly pesky. Hobbies include reading and making grand plans that are never executed. Hates physics, but loves metaphysics.

End of Article

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA