Latest News For 'Gurgaon'
May 14th, 2007
Gurgaon: About 3,000 Protesters From 130 Gurgaon Villages Block NH-8 For 2 Hours. Much to the chagrin of Haryana government’s claim that the state is a favourite destination for SEZ developers and industries, about 3,000 farmers from 130 villages from Gurgaon and adjoining areas blocked the traffic for two hours on Sunday on NH-8 near Manesar against land acquisition by the government.
The protesters called off the traffic blockade after the Gurgaon deputy commissioner (DC) Rakesh Gupta promised that the government would respond to their demands by Wednesday.
However, farmers have unanimously decided to block the traffic again on May 27, if the government fails to respond. Shouting slogans against the state government, farmers said that they would prefer to die than let the government acquire their land.
‘‘Pachgaon Banega Nandigram’’ read one of the banners put up by the farmers from village Pachgaon. Haryana government has issued a notification to acquire the land of this village.
‘‘The government has moved ahead to acquire about 250 acre of land in Manesar village. Once the land is acquired people will have no place to live. We have demanded that the government must not forcibly acquire land to benefit industrial and corporate houses,’’ said Surender Singh, Sarpanch of Garouli village.
Farmers said that the option of selling land should be left to the farmers. ‘‘We strongly feel that all farmers don’t want to sell their land. If that’s the last option for them, then they must get market price. But the main aim behind such a move by all of us is to ensure that the government does not acquire our land. Wherever they have issued notices they must stop taking further action,’’ said Brahm Prakash, president of Krishi Bhoomi Bachao Kishan Majdoor Sangharsh Samiti.
Farmers from five villages from Garhi Harsaru have asked the government to stop the Reliance Industries from taking possession of the land, though all formality has been completed. ‘‘We have told the government not to do any such thing till July 11 when our case comes up for hearing in Punjab and Haryana High Court,’’ Surender cautioned.
Source: TOI(Delhi epaper)
April 18th, 2007
THE DELHI Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced it will close a 300-metre stretch of the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road to Gurgaon-bound traffic from May 10. This stretch of MG Road falls in the Sikanderpur market area and will be closed for two years .
The Metro’s Gurgaon line is to pass through Sikanderpur market on an elevated structure and terminate at Sushant Lok L DMRC and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) officials on Tuesday informed traders and the villagers of Sikanderpur about these changes in a ‘community interaction programme’.
The officials said the new traffic plans and metro extension work would not result in displacement of traders. An alternate route for road traffic is in place and the changeover is expected to be smooth. “The work on Metro extension would start in full swing on this patch but we have taken all care to ensure that shops and other commercial establishments in the market operate uninterrupted. We would need 30 of the 90 feet that the passage is in the market area and rest would be left for shoppers,” DMRC’s chief public relations officer Anuj Dayal said.
The DMRC has also created an additional parking lot near the market for traders, villagers and shoppers. On possible vibrations in shops and houses of the Sikanderpur area in the event of Metro trains passing through Sikanderpur market, Dayal said that DMRC would erect reflectors on both the sides of the track to absorb the vibrations of moving trains.
Source: Hindustantimes.com(Delhi epaper)
April 1st, 2007
Gurgaon: If you are thinking of zooming through Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, hold your horses. Though the designed speed limit of this stretch is 100 kmph, cars and heavy motor vehicles are not allowed to cross the 50 kmph mark and for two-wheelers the maximum limit is fixed at 40 kmph for the time being.
According to ASP (traffic) N S Ahlawat, the idea behind maintaining the speed limit is to minimise road accidents till the work on the entire stretch is completed. “And for those violating the rule, the fine can range anything from Rs 100 to Rs 400,” he added.
Even a senior National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official admitted that until the traffic segregation happens on this stretch, it would be risky to let the light motor vehicles (LMVs) zoom at 80 kmph.
“The segregation of high-speeding and slow-moving traffic will be possible only when the entire stretch is complete. We have seen how two-wheelers and slow moving vehicles have been largely responsible for accidents on this stretch,” he pointed out.
According to traffic experts, the speed limit on any stretch is fixed after keeping in mind the designed speed, type of traffic, road geometry and norm of the speed limit.
“The notification issued by the Central government in 1989 fixes the speed limit for all public roads. While for two wheelers, it’s 50 kmph and for buses it’s 65 kmph, there is no specification for LMVs.
This responsibility has been left to the state governments,” said Rohit Baluja, president of Indian Road Traffic Education.
Strange though it might sound, the truth is that Haryana government has fixed the speed limit for LMVs on national highways at 90 kmph, despite the fact that the road geometry and signage on these stretches don’t comply to the desired norms.
Moreover, there are villages and city and urban limits fall on these stretches, making it practically impossible for vehicles to ply at that high speed.
“Why the whole concept of speed limit has gone for a six is that we have no proper traffic management system and no importance has been given to the increasing problem of traffic chaos. Two-wheelers constitute 60% of our total vehicle population. Where is the plan to manage them? So we end up counting more fatal accidents,” Baluja said.
Meanwhile, Gurgaon police have got a Rs 3-crore sanction from the state government to install ‘pentizone’ cameras on the stretch to catch motorists who overspeed, violate lane-driving, park vehicles on the road and jump signals, among others.
This sanction includes the laying of broadband services for approximately 40 cameras and CCTVs across the city in the first phase.
Said inspector-general Mahendra Lal: “These cameras will be placed on the expressway, crossings of the service road, on MG Road and Old highway. We are sure that by the time the expressway is complete, we will have the cameras installed.”
He added that these cameras have a coverage area of 2.5 km. “Once we have these automative traffic regulation systems in place, we will be able to manage the situation. We realise that this expressway needs immediate attention to prevent accidents by keeping check on traffic rule violations,” Lal added.
Source: Indiatimes.com
March 15th, 2007
Gurgaon: Two persons were killed and four were injured in two separate accidents on Guragon expressway on Wednesday.
According to an official of the expressway patrol, Gajraj Singh, the first accident took place around 2.30 am on Udyog Vihar flyover when a car heading towards Delhi at a high speed rammed into a stationary truck on the flyover.
‘‘The cleaner of the truck was changing the punctured tyre. The car with a Delhi registration number hit the truck and the cleaner died at the spot,’’ said Singh.
The driver of the car also died on the spot. The accident could have caused more damage, had the truck been parked in the middle of the flyover.
The second accident took place later in the day on the South City flyover on Delhi-Jaipur stretch, when two cars collided with each other. Though, there were no casualties, four persons were left injured. They have been admitted to a private hospital in the city.
A senior official of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) held rash driving and violation of traffic rules responsible for the increased number of accidents.
‘‘The blame goes to the commuters, who often violate the traffic norms. Even in the second case, the two cars collided on the South City flyover when one of them suddenly changed the lane at a high speed. Drivers must follow the traffic norms and stick to lane driving on this high-speed stretch,’’ the official added.
Since the opening of these flyovers, several accidents have taken place on Gurgaon-Delhi stretch.
Last month, a mini bus had rammed into a pollution under control (PUC) booth and a tea stall adjoining a petrol pump near 32 Milestone leaving two dead. In another incident in February, two motor cycle borne persons were killed on the Udyog Vihar flyover stretch of the expressway when a speeding car hit the motor cycle from behind.
Source: TOI(Delhi-epaper)
March 2nd, 2007
Gurgaon: The drive between Palam Crossing and Gurgaon is all set to become smoother with the opening of flyovers at IFFCO Chowk and South City on Friday.
But keeping in mind large number of pedestrian and two-wheeler drivers causing fatal accidents on the expressway under construction, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has zeroed in on the plan to erect iron fencing on the central verge of the stretches between flyovers.
‘‘The growing number of pedestrians crossing this stretch has become a cause of concern. Since we can’t predict their behaviour on road, we have to seal all alternate routes they might take as shortcuts to cross the road,’’ said a senior NHAI official.
As per the plan, iron fencing up to 8 ft would be erected between two flyovers. ‘‘We will get imported fence for this purpose. In other parts of Delhi, these fences are often broken or cut, so we will ensure that we put fences which can’t be broken easily,’’ the official added.
According to officials, there were three main points where pedestrians were found trying to cross the expressway. As per the plan, underpass and foot over bridge have been earmarked at locations where the pedestrian and cyclists movement is more.
‘‘We can’t build iron fencing every 500 meters. So, NHAI has started distributing road-use manual for the commuters on how they could use the road safely. We have printed more than 1,50,000 pamphlets so far. With more awareness, there will be fewer
problems,’’ said a senior official.
Meanwhile, to ensure that the two-wheelers don’t have access to the expressway once it’s completed, the NHAI will put specially designed cattle guards at the entry and exit points. Officials said that swerving by two-wheeler drivers is one of the main cause of accident in the high speeding zone.
Competition of flyovers on the Expressway attracts attention since almost 50% of the 27.7 km stretch is covered by them.
Source: TOI(Delhi-epaper)
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