The huge traffic snarls on Ahmednagar Road due to the temporary closing of the Ramwadi underpass has led to rampant wrong side driving.
Two-wheelers and fourwheelers take the one-way from the main road towards Kalyaninagar. The absence of a traffic policeman to check such violations has led to indisciplined driving and also traffic jams. Wrong side driving has been an issue at this junction for a long time. With the main Ahmednagar Road choc-a-block during peak hours, commuters often take short cuts towards Kalyaninagar to avoid a two-km ride and the agonising wait in slow-moving traffic. Rashmi Thorat, a shop ow ner at a commercial complex near the underpass, said, “Due to wrong side driving, traffic is being blocked. People driving on the right side have to wait till the wrong side driver passes. It’s a single lane so it creates a lot of problems.“
Another resident, Soumit ra Bose, said, “If a traffic policeman is deployed at the turn then these problems would be solved. The traffic department has set up barricades on the road, but people still flout rules and drive on the one-way . It’s utter lack of civic sense.“
Residents meet officials
Residents of Kalyaninagar met Srinivas Bonala, chief engineer, Pune Municipal Cor poration, senior police inspector (traffic) Bhagwat Misal and all the four corporators at the site.
Rachana Aggarwal, a Kalyaninagar resident and member of the group who met the officials, said about 10-12 residents gathered on Thursday to meet the officials. “Bonala explained the map of the underpass being constructed and we understood why both the lanes of the underpass were closed.They are actually widening the Ahmednagar Road above the underpass as well because of which it had to be shut down for traffic. We told them how residents suffered the aftereffects and how citizens have been neglected while planning,“ she added. Many told officials how they have to go through the Shastrinagar junction mess every day . The residents also proposed two immediate, easy to implement solutions. They suggested that the U-turn signal time at Shastrinagar be increased and secondly , the opening of the right turn from Kalyaninagar at the Shastrinagar junction which would lead commuters directly to Ahmednagar Road.
Aggarwal said, “The civic authorities were receptive to the ideas, but have sought a week to think about it. According to him, it usually takes a week for the changes to settle down.“ The residents have planned to meet the authorities again on October 23.
Other steps taken
A full-time traffic policeman has been stationed outside The Bishop’s School junction, Shastrinagar Chowk and also at the exit where the road joins Ahmednagar Road, adjoining the underpass touching Gera 77 complex.
The civic body has promised 25 jammers for Kalyaninagar to be given to traffic department to take action against no-parking offenders
Source : TOI
