2 deaths in 14 days, Radhe Mangalam hall junction still unsafe, temporary signal fails

Nagpur: Two fatal accidents in 14 days exposed glaring safety gaps at Radhe Mangalam Hall Square on the Inner Ring Road, yet the response on the ground raised more questions than reassurance. A temporary traffic signal installed after public outrage remained non-functional and was later removed for charging, even as police placed barricades in an attempt to control speeding at the accident-prone junction.After the accidents, traffic police installed a temporary solar-powered signal at the junction on Sunday. However, it was found non-functional even on Monday, raising concerns among locals about the effectiveness of the measure.
As a precaution, traffic cops also put up barricades on both approaches to Radhe Mangalam Hall Square to regulate speed. Residents claim the barricades are often removed soon after being installed. Some locals also suggested that the crossing at the busy junction should be closed to prevent further accidents.The first fatal accident occurred on Feb 7, when an illegal bike-taxi rider carrying a passenger rammed a moped at the square. All three fell onto the road, following which an SUV ran over the bike-taxi rider, Vivek Borkar, killing him on the spot. On Feb 21, an allegedly speeding car lost control and ran over 61-year-old Bhagyashree Kathiwan. She too succumbed to her injuries."There are no proper traffic safety measures at the spot leading to accidents regularly. Apart from the two fatal accidents, several others, including one between a car and truck, also happened recently," said a local resident.TOI reported on Feb 10 that locals were demanding installation of a traffic signal at the junction. However, before concrete action was taken, another fatal accident occurred near the square.Speaking to TOI, Sonegaon traffic PI Pravin Pandey said that a temporary solar-powered signal was brought to the spot. "The signal was non-functional and was earlier kept near Ambazari overflow point. It is not charged yet, so we asked the hall authorities to help charge it, because of which it was removed. If it does not work, we will bring another temporary signal," said Pandey.He added that barricades were installed to control speeding. "We put up barricades but they were removed the next day. We deployed two personnel to ensure barricades are placed there all the time," said Pandey. He stated that several stretches along the Inner Ring Road between Chhatrapati Square and Hingna T-point lack adequate safety infrastructure."We earlier wrote to PWD's World Bank division, under whose jurisdiction the road comes, to install traffic safety measures, including speed breakers, rumbling strips and others, but so far nothing was done. We also wrote to NMC about the issues, as there are no road markings, including a zebra crossing at the junction. Apart from the letters, we are regularly in contact with the agencies, but still no action is being taken," said Pandey.