Traffic chaos tests people’s patience

Vijayawada: Traffic in Sunrise State’s capital is wasting the valuable time of people ranging from pauper to elite apart from horrible experiences of meeting with road accidents. Steps taken by the police personnel to regulate the traffic are not giving desired result as it needs cooperation from other departments such as Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) which needs to ensure traffic signals work everywhere.

Highlights:

• Cops’ steps to regulate traffic proves futile
• VMC and roads and buildings department should cooperate with traffic cops for regulating traffic
• Signal system need to be developed at key points like Jakkampudi flyover, Kabela Junction, Cholera Hospital, Chittinagar, Anjaneya Vagu, KBN College Crossroads, Panja Centre
• Roads in the specified routes are in a bad shape due to heavy traffic. They need to be repaired with the collective efforts of various departments

Several departments have to put in collective efforts to make roads in good condition. Furthermore, the troubles for traffic at One Town are considered separately as it is linked to construction of Durga temple flyover. Before commencement of Durga temple flyover works, the traffic officials diverted vehicles coming towards Vijayawada from Hyderabad side onto bypass road that connects Gollapudi, Sitara Centre and Kabela. It may take another four months to finish the works, according to officials. The top officials have plans to ready the flyover by August 15.

Traffic is going out of control from Gollapudi to Police Control Room, between Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) and Sitara theatre centre. Vehicles go haywire at key junctions leading to traffic snarls for hours together. On the other hand, Police Control Room is witnessing traffic problem. The traffic signals at this junction are tuned to give way to vehicles that move from eight directions, the police have been failing to clear traffic jam between bus station and railway station entry points. Traffic is going on at a snail’s pace between Kaleswara Rao Market and PNBS.

During the peak hours, it is difficult to move forward and many road users honk repeatedly leading to noise pollution.At One-Town’s Sitara-Panja route, due to congested roads and narrow turnings at almost all places, traffic moves,too, slow. So many vehicles, especially two-wheelers and cars, in their effort to come onto the main road from sub -lanes create hurdles for traffic on main road.Because of Durga temple flyover works, traffic has been diverted from Gollapudi onto bypass road at Mile Rayi Centre.

RTC buses and light vehicles cover Sitara Centre, Kabela Centre, Jakkampudi flyover, Milk Project, Chittinagar, KBN College, Fish Market, Panja, East Railway Station to reach Kaleswara Rao Market. In this process, the traffic halts at Kabela as trucks move towards Urmila Subbarao Nagar from Jakkampudi flyover. Such obstacles are seen at Chittinagar Crossroads, Anjaneya Vagu and KBN College Crossroads. At Chittinagar Crosssroads, the vehicles try to take a diversion towards Kedareswarapet while vehicles from four directions move in different ways. As a result, KT Road has become a big trouble for traffic. At Anjaneya Vagu, vehicles from three main lanes try to come onto the main road causing traffic snarls. Even at KBN College Crossroads, vehicular traffic from six directions has to be allowed.

As a result of this, vehicular movement on main road suffers badly. All vehicles leading towards Vidyadharapuram, Bhavanipuram, HB Colony, Gollapudi, Ibrahimpatnam (Adda Road), Kondapalli and Hyderabad should take a diversion at Kaleswara Rao Market (Vastralatha) to be halt at Head Post Office, Bodemma Hotel, Panja, Fish Market, KBN College, Chittinagar, Tunnel, Sitara Centre, HB Colony, Gollapudi to resume their movement towards Hyderabad. As more and more number of buses and other vehicles pass through Vastralatha, traffic goes haywire at Head Post Office.

Passengers travelling in long distance RTC vehicles, going to and fro Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS), are often irritated by the traffic jams as the stretch between Sitara Centre and Panja Centre turned a roadblock. Even at 11 pm, traffic jam can be witnessed at Sitara Centre. One can assume how difficult it is to travel between the above two junctions without wasting half-an-hour. Signal system need to be developed at key points like entry of Jakkampudi flyover, Kabela junction, Cholera Hospital, Chittinagar, Anjaneya Vagu, KBN College Crossroads, Panja Centre apart from other locations at One Town. Roads in the specified routes are also in a bad shape due to heavy traffic. They need to be repaired with the collective efforts of various departments.

By Noor Shaik