The Pioneer conducts a reality check about traffic problems starting with one of most congested roads in city Aurobindo Marg
Traffic congestion in Delhi is a perennial problem. And there is no single factor responsible for the long trails of vehicles that one sees on the Delhi roads almost every day.
From lack of enforcement of traffic rules by the Delhi Traffic Police to ill-maintenance of roads by PWD and MCDs, from haphazard parking on the roadsides to unchecked encroachment by street-vendors, there seems to be a clear lack of effort to clear city roads for vehicles, and footpaths for pedestrians.
The Pioneer conducts a reality check about the traffic woes of the city starting with one of the most congested roads of Delhi Aurobindo Marg.
“It is interesting to note that the traffic on this road is smooth for the most part of the journey except 4-5 spots where it suddenly stops or crawls at a snail’s pace. I take this road almost every other day. I have noticed that I keep facing heavy traffic on the exact same spots every time I take this road, which makes one wonder if it’s actually heavy traffic volume or some other factor that leads to traffic jams at certain specific places and smooth sailing at others,” said Rajesh Sharma, who frequently travels to Connaught Place from Saket.
Rajesh’s sentiments are shared by many. The Pioneer found out that out of the three trips from lado Sarai to Race Course Metro station (and back), there was heavy traffic every single time near Adhchini, IIT Flyover, Yousuf Sarai Market and INA. There was slow moving traffic near AIIMS as well due to heavy pedestrian movement and absence of any foot-over bridge or subway. And except these spots, the traffic moved at a relatively good pace.
Meanwhile, there seems to be contradiction of opinion when it comes to the reason behind sudden rise in traffic congestion at certain spots. While traffic police blames it on poor design of the roads, a senior PWD official said poor enforcement of traffic rules is also responsible for the same.
“If you travel on the Aurobindo Marg stretch, you will note that the traffic becomes slow only at those parts where there are markets, or road encroachment by the hawkers. The traffic flow is completely smooth otherwise. And you have to realise that PWD is only a road maintaining agency but not a road owning agency. We do not have power to remove encroachment from the roads. That power lies with the traffic police and the MCDs, which are clearly not doing their jobs,” said the officer.
However, traffic officials said they try their best to regulate traffic but unless some significant changes are made in the design of the roads, there is little the traffic cop posted on the ground can do.