Stop private buses from halting at Central Avenue, demand residents

NAGPUR: Residents from Hansapuri, under the banner of Hansapuri Nagrik Manch, gathered near Geetanjali Talkies on Monday morning and raised slogans demanding the immediate shifting of offices of private travels so that they do not pick up passengers from the busy Central Avenue.
The trigger for the protest was the death of 14-year-old Mohammed Shoaib who was crushed by a private bus on Saturday.Shoaib was a Std V student of Harikisan Public School at Bezonbagh.
"There are several junctions along Central Avenue where the buses stop to pick up passengers in a very haphazard manner. Traffic jams and accidents routinely happen here. The RTO and traffic department have failed to address the problem," said Dilip Nanavate, the president of the Manch.
After the residents paid a floral tribute to Shoaib, Nanavate said, "We are demanding the immediate shifting of private buses from this area to avoid mishaps. Haphazard parking of these buses on the main roads makes it difficult for one to access the road connecting Mayo Hospital Chowk and Telephone Exchange Square."
Another resident, Sushil Balpande informed that drivers and conductors of the private buses do not care for the safety of other vehicles. By allowing passengers to board the bus and get down in the middle of the road, sometimes even when the vehicle is in motion, they are putting other motorists in a difficult position. "The private buses do not follow traffic rules and it results in chaos," he said.
The private buses also create hurdles at busy junctions like Jadhav Chowk near Ganeshpeth ST Bus stand, Dhantoli and at Bole Petrol pump near Dharampeth. Even though the high court has issued strict directives to both RTO and traffic police to ensure private buses do not create traffic jams, motorists say that they have never seen traffic cops trying to ease the congestion at these spots.