No silver lining for city roads

VARANASI: After failing to create an atmosphere for planned expansion of the city and implementation of plans proposed in Masterplan 2011, the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) seems to have left commuters to their fate on the congested road. Rather, focus may be on expansion of the city.
Yes, this agency has decided not to identify any new road for widening under Masterplan 2021.VDA has interesting reasons for this decision. VDA vice-chairman RP Goswami told TOI that past experiences were bitter. The roads selected for widening and ending bottlenecks in Masterplan 2011 could not be developed as per the plan. The non-cooperation and rigid attitude of locals in not sparing land was the main practical problem, he claimed.
In the past 10 years, VDA mainly focussed on the Cantonment railway station-Lanka Road. However, the agency could only succeed in ending the bottlenecks in small pockets at points like Rathyatra and Bhelupur crossings. Traffic bottlenecks at Sigra Crossing could not be ended while the plan for widening Rathyatra-Kamaksha Road were yet to be materialised. Goswami said the agency was aware of the increasing vehicular load on city roads. "But, past experiences are sufficient to prove that until the city is expanded on the outskirts in a planned manner and the commercial zones shifted from the main city area, ensuring improvement on the existing roads is impossible," he claimed.
The regional transport office records say over 60,000 new two, three and four wheelers are coming on the city roads every year. Additional regional transport officer (administration) KD Singh Gaur opined that users of private vehicles should be encouraged to switch to public transport on the lines of Western countries. But, before initiating measures in this direction, ensuring improvement in public transport system is a must. To strengthen the public transport system, an ambitious city mobility plan was prepared. On the basis of the same plan, 150 buses in low-floor, big and small categories were given to the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2009.
The buses had to be introduced on 23 routes including those that had been identified by VDA for widening under Masterplan 2011. As VDA could not succeed in materialising its plan, none of the buses could be introduced on the city roads. These buses are presently being used to connect townships and rural areas with the city. Goswami said keeping in view the ground realities, the agency was proposing development of major commercial zones on the outskirts and along the highways. He hinted that the new masterplan would contain proposals for expansion of the city instead of ensuring improvement in old areas.