Ram Jhula-II opens for public but traffic still remains ‘Ram bharose’

  • | Sunday | 20th January, 2019

But both traffic police and NMC took no efforts to ease congestion.A traffic cop deployed there admitted that opening of new bridge failed to ease congestion. This is evident at the city’s signature Ram Jhula. However, encroachment by fruit vendors on the already narrow patch between Shree Mohini Complex T-point and Jaistambh Square failed to ease congestion. Encroachments by fruit vendors and eateries on road and footpath added to the woes.The bridge adjacent the old Ram Jhula ROB was thrown open to public to streamline traffic. The motorists using Ram Jhula-I had hoped that the second railway overbridge, inaugurated on Friday, would end traffic disorder.

Nagpur: Sometimes, a facility aimed at creating ease ends up creating chaos. This is evident at the city’s signature Ram Jhula. The motorists using Ram Jhula-I had hoped that the second railway overbridge, inaugurated on Friday, would end traffic disorder. But the traffic mess turned from bad to worse at the ever-busy Jaistambh Square.A day after the RoB was opened, TOI visited the spot and found that instead of easing congestion, the new Jhula has increased chaos. One of the prime reasons was encroachment by vendors, haphazard parking of autorickshaws on roads and no facility for pedestrians, who end up in jaywalking to criss-cross the busy junction.On Friday, though a traffic police constable was deployed to man the vehicular traffic, his efforts fell short due to the unruly parking of autorickshaws on all directions. Encroachments by fruit vendors and eateries on road and footpath added to the woes.The bridge adjacent the old Ram Jhula ROB was thrown open to public to streamline traffic. This bridge is a crucial link between east and west Nagpur. But things did not go well as expected. The bridge connects traffic to the narrow Kingsway.The new bridge was supposed to provide freeway for vehicular traffic coming from LIC Square and heading towards Mayo Hospital. However, encroachment by fruit vendors on the already narrow patch between Shree Mohini Complex T-point and Jaistambh Square failed to ease congestion. Due to this, TOI also spotted a long queue of vehicles up to St Joseph Convent.A few tea and roadside food vendors occupying the footpath blocked freeway for pedestrians and they were being forced to use road. This, as a result, acts as a hurdle for free movement of vehicles.Rakesh Oja, a regular commuter and a resident of Gandhibagh, said strict anti-encroachment drive can resolve the chaos. “Traffic congestion is intense during peak hours when around 20 trains arrive and autorickshaws crowd the entry and exit gates to cater to the passenger rush,” said Rahul Lanke, a resident of Warora, who arrived at railway station.Besides this, three-seater autorickshaws were seen parked near Jaistambh Square making the stretch one of the most congested roads in the city. What’s worse is that traffic cops’ deployment to prevent illegal parking near railway station hardly makes any difference.In 2010, the high court had issued directives to both NMC commissioner and Nagpur city police chief to ensure smooth movement of vehicles in front of the railway station. But both traffic police and NMC took no efforts to ease congestion.A traffic cop deployed there admitted that opening of new bridge failed to ease congestion. According to him, very little space is left for the traffic to merge or diverge as Ram Jhula and the station flyover descend directly at the junction. He also attributed inconsistency in the lane from Shree Mohini Complex T-Point to Jaistambh Chowk widths is another major reason for bottlenecks.Tejinder Singh Renu, secretary of Vidarbha Taxpayers’ Association said: “This is perfect example of poor planning and foresight. Fancy design drained taxpayers’ money and consumed more than a decade with no relief at Jai Stambh Square.”On several occasions, TOI too had reported the mess outside the railway station but the city traffic police failed to ease congestion. Although VTA had been submitting suggestions with plans time and again, some timely modifications should have brought much-needed relief, he pointed out.Ruling party leader Sandip Joshi said the redevelopment of the railway station road from Jaistambh Square to Ahimsa Square would ease congestion. As per the plan prepared by MahaMetro, construction of slip road for vehicles coming from LIC Square and moving towards railway station would be carried out. The new road will go under the Ram Jhula, he said.

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