With Diwali rush in the markets peaking, the traffic jams on the city roads have once again come back to haunt the people of City Beautiful. However, no concrete mechanism seems to be available by the concerned authorities to avoid the mess.
There are no restrictions on the stalls, no check over haphazard parking areas, besides traffic violations still continue unabated thus,compounding the problem. The roads adjoining to markets in Chandigarh, including Sector-7, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 26, 35, and 47 are the worst affected areas.Apart from these places, vehicles can also be noticed crawling on the entire stretch of Madhya Marg and Himalaya Marg, due to the traffic jam.
A commuter on Madhya Marg complained that it took him more than half an hour to cross the Madhya Marg from Matka Chowk to Transport light point, which usually takes hardly 10 to 15 minutes.Ajay Sinha, a city resident who visited at Madhya Marg with family, said that the parking problem has become worst due to the stalls, erected for selling fire crackers in the parking areas.“These stalls should not be allowed to be erected at parking areas as it increases risk of fire incident and also worsen traffic conditions,” he added.
Senior Superintendent of Chandigarh Traffic Police, Manish Chaudhry said that the traffic police have made several arrangements to maintain smooth traffic flow during this festival season, but the problem has become more crucial due to inappropriate vehicle parking in the market places and also due to the shopper’s stalls erected in parking areas.Meanwhile, apart from deputing traffic police personnel at thickly populated areas of the city, a large number of home guard volunteers have also been ordered to tackle traffic jam problems.Alternative routes for commuters are also being planned, which can be taken during emergencies.