Traversing on Vikas Marg, the lifeline of East Delhi is nothing less than a nightmare thesedays. Illegal parking, haphazardly erected sign-boards, result in major traffic snarl in the area.
Traffic movement remains painfully slow owing to the blockade on the left carriageway. The ordeal of motorists starts the moment their vehicle crosses the Shakarpur Chungi crossing and it continues till Madhuban Chowk near Nirman Vihar Metro Station. This road is perennially dug up since the waterline beneath gets clogged and the civic agencies dig deep holes to rectify the affected parts.
There are shops on both sides and with huge customers all the day. This poses major problems for the traffic to move smoothly. Unauthorised parking of vehicles on both sides of Vikas Marg and jaywalkers make it tougher for the motorists as they are compelled to wade through the very little road space available.
"We are considering a proposal to identify authorised parking lots and have also spoken to the officials of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) regarding the same. We hope to find a solution to make traffic flow smoother on this stretch. The road has been dug to sort out some sewer problems and the work is expected to be completed soon,” said Radhe Shyam, the president of Vikas Marg Traders’ Association.
The holding capacity of Vikas Marg has shrunk further as there is blatant encroachment and to make it even more worse there are street vendors and squatters. The problem of pedestrians and hundreds of cycle-rickshaws that ply on this stretch worsened the situation.
“The roads get blocked due illegal parking on roadsides. It causes a lot of problems to us, but we can't say anything because most of the cars parked are owned by the shop-owners,” said Rakesh, a rickshaw puller of laxmi Vihar.
“We cannot say anything to anyone, because people nowadays get into fights in fraction of a second. This congestion usually takes place at peak hours when the traffic is high and the market is looking for business,” said Manohar lal, owner of Manohar Store in the market.
Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic) Anil Shukla said that traffic police have been making efforts to ease traffic flow at this stretch. There are certain issues with the civic agencies that will be sorted out soon.