The Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has recommended making cuts in the dividers on Rajpur Road finer as part of the measures to smoothen the flow of traffic on this road. The recommendations have been made as part of a project being undertaken by the Public Works Department. It should be noted here that increasing number of vehicles and other factors have left various roads in the State capital suffering from chronic traffic congestion. According to the MDDA secretary Prakash Chandra Dumka, as part of a project being undertaken by the PWD, the authority has recommended making the cuts in the divider on Rajpur Road finer. The MDDA is also working on a plan for Saharanpur Chowk which also suffers from traffic congestion.
According to officials, the PWD project for Rajpur Road from the Clock Tower to Mussoorie Diversion is likely to involve comparatively less expensive changes and alterations like making the road divider narrower, creation of left lanes for traffic going straight at intersections, making the road divider cut near the lane of the district magistrate’s residence and near the National Hydrographic Office finer among other measures.
Departmental officials state that apart from major infrastructural measures being undertaken by the State like construction of flyovers, some smaller measures expected to have the desired effect are being considered for roads and intersections in various parts of the State capital. Such measures are mainly aimed at reducing traffic congestion by making comparatively minor alterations to facilitate smooth flow of traffic on busy stretches of roads in Dehradun.
It is worth mentioning here that though the police occasionally enforce traffic regulations, the lack of regulations being observed on city roads is considered to be one of the major reasons for traffic congestion. Observers opine that without enforcement of the regulations, the infrastructural improvements being planned or undertaken by the authorities would have a limited effect.