Archive for February, 2007
February 28th, 2007
Gurgaon: Commuters heading towards Gurgaon from Delhi may be tired of the claims by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) of giving them relief on NH-8 but officials claim South City Crossing and IFFCO Chowk will soon be free from the mess, thanks to the opening of two new flyovers on March 2. Although these flyovers could have been opened on Wednesday, highly placed sources said no minister will be able make it to the inauguration owing to the presentation of the Union budget.
With the opening of these two flyovers, the entire stretch between Palam crossing and Hero Honda Chowk will become signal free. ‘‘Though it will not put an end to the commuters’ woes, we are sure that the situation will improve at these two spots.
Earlier, even after a smooth drive from Sirhole border to IFFCO Chowk, traffic coming from Gurgaon had to negotiate the snarls at these crossings. At least now, they can drive non-stop,’’ said an NHAI official.
Already six out of nine flyovers on this stretch have been thrown open to traffic. The flyover at Rao Tularam (RTR) Marg and the underpass at Hero Honda Chowk remain to be completed. NHAI officials say that work at RTR will gain more steam now since they will mobilise their man and machines to this spot. Sources said that one carriageway of the flyover would be operational in April. However, the relief to commuters at Hero Honda Chowk will come much later since construction activity at this busiest crossing has not yet started. Hence, there is no denying the fact that though the opening of these two flyovers will address the traffic snarls at these spots, now commuters will have a longer delay at Sirhole border, Palam Crossing and Hero Honda Chowk.
Source: TOI(Delhi-epaper)
February 28th, 2007
Pune: Five people lost their lives in separate road accidents in various parts of Pune in the last 48 hours.
Two people were killed and two were injured when their car hit a stationary truck on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Anupama Arjundas Kukreja (25) and Mukesh Arjundas Kukreja (25), while the injured as Soni Sharma (24) and Sandeep Keswani.
The Hinjewadi police said the foursome were proceeding towards Pimpri when their car rammed into the truck, which was parked near the Wakad octroi post.
The truck driver Irfan Mubarak of Dongri, Mumbai, has been booked for ignoring rules about parking on the road and causing death.
Meanwhile, pillion-rider Sambhaji Mahadev Jaid (36) was killed and motorcycle rider Sopan Jaid (28) was injured when an unidentified truck hit them from behind at Thergaon on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass in the wee hours of Tuesday.
In yet another mishap, motorcycle rider Sambhaji Jadhav (25) of Pimpri was killed and his two friends, who were travelling on another motorcycle, sustained severe injuries when a truck knocked them down on the Pune-Mumbai road at Khadki on Tuesday afternoon. The three were taken to a private hospital at Shivajinagar, where Jadhav was declared dead, the police said.
An unidentified pedestrian was fatally hit by an unidentified vehicle on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass on Sunday evening, the Chatushrungi police said.
A tanker carrying diesel turned turtle spilling the fuel on Aat Mula road, off Pune-Mumbai road, Khadki, on Tuesday noon. The police and fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and debarred people from gathering near the tanker for stealing the fuel.
Traffic came to a standstill for nearly two hours at Khadki on the Pune-Mumbai road after a truck collided with the gate at the Khadki level-crossing. A crane was pressed into service to remove the truck.
Source: TOI(Pune-epaper)
February 27th, 2007
A 27-YEAR-OLD man was crushed to death and three others were injured, one of them critically, when a bus hit a motorcycle and a scooter near the Nepal Embassy on the Barakhamba Road on Monday.
The accident took place in the ’service lane,’ on the extreme left of the road usually taken by twowheelers and cars. Buses are not allowed to ply this lane.
According to the police, Ambar Sharma, who was riding the bike, died instantly. One of his colleagues, who was riding pillion, was critically injured. The police identified him only as Anil. He was rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
According to the police, both were going to a bank where they worked. The incident took place at 10.30 a.m.
The chartered bus then hit a couple on a scooter, but they survived. They, too, were taken to the RML Hospital. The police identified the couple as S.P. Singh and wife Maya. They were going to Connaught Place.
The police have seized the bus, but the driver is absconding.
“Buses are not allowed in service lanes, but today because of a rally, many heavy vehicles were taking that lane,” said Subashis Chaudhary, DCP-Traffic (New Delhi).
“The service lane near the Nepal Embassy opens to the main road, which increases the chances of accidents. A service road should never open to a main road. We are taking to steps to rectify this,” he said.
In another accident, a one-yearold girl was killed in Moti Nagar area of West Delhi when a tempo hit her.
Source: HindustanTimes ePaper
February 26th, 2007
GURGAON: You are not wrong if you think that heavy vehicular traffic is leading to an increasing number of traffic jams making smooth movement more difficult by the day.
Considering the rapid increase in private vehicles, both cars and two-wheelers, combined with the poor public transport system — traffic experts forecast that vehicular speed will drastically reduce and might even bring vehicular movement to a stand still by 2021.
Experts feel that the future development will be linear in nature. “Adding to the road capacity does not mean that the problem of increasing traffic will automatically be solved. Only a proper transport system can effectively deal with the problem,” said Yash Sachdeva, additional general manager (urban transport) of RITES.
He added that if the number of private vehicles continue to increase at their present rate then there is a possibility that the vehicular movement in Gurgaon might be reduced to 10 kmph.
A RITES survey in 2004 found that about 70% of households in Gurgaon have two-wheelers or cars or both. It found that Delhi-Gurgaon stretch witnessed a high percentage of vehicular traffic which constituted mostly of cars. For instance, at Sirhole border on NH 8, a total of 48% of vehicular traffic was that of cars and at Sikanderpur on MG Road it was as high as 54%.
It also found that the number of daily vehicles entering Gurgaon was more than three lakhs in 2004. The trend of opting for private transport could prove to be disastrous for the city transport system. “In 2001 people using car in Delhi was only 10-12%. But these cars used almost 90% of the total road space. Hence, in spite of flyovers and wide roads, traffic snarls remain universal,” said Sachdeva.
Source: Timesofindia
February 26th, 2007
Lucknow: With traffic department in action mode, city people are having a tough time. And when mentioned of a court order there are few “ifs” and “buts” that follow.
“I have not heard of any court order,” seemed ignorance a bliss for a thirty-something Mukesh who willingly offered his car to be ripped off opaque film. The point, however, is the same, with everyone wondering if it would be a fair treatment for all. “Common man, most of the time, does not need law to be taught about rules. It is mostly those with a political mileage,” added Smriti. But, the reactions definitely do not deter traffic cops who have to submit a report on March 1.
Meanwhile, traffic department in a day’s action mopped up a fine to the tune of Rs 22,500. The area of main action was Telibagh and Gandhi Setu. “We kept watch on all areas but main focus was at these two places,” said a traffic official.
Besides, there was a crack down on 18 vehicles with pressure horns and sixteen with improper number plate. 35 black films were removed and 30 people were punished for violating traffic rules.
Source: TOI(Lucknow-epaper)
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