Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
Traffic Jams rule the street in Nagpur! Although multi million rupees are poured into upgrading the infrastructure in the city, the fruits of development are nowhere to be seen. Citizens are wondering where the massive development push has gone as day in and day out they are finding themselves stuck in traffic snarls.
The traffic snarls are not limited to one or two spots but almost 36 areas are identified in a survey carried out by Nagpur City Police. So the slogans of changing Nagpur for a better tomorrow that were on since last few years seems to have evaporated in air. Citizens have to bear with severe inconvenience and with every passing day, more the development more the trouble is on cards.
From the past one year the situation on city roads has gone from bad to worse. Despite the road widening work, construction of new roads, over-bridges and almost completed metro rail work, vehicular traffic still cannot flow freely as was envisaged. Top police officials are yet to find a remedy and going by daily chaos witnessed on roads, one feels as if Nagpurians have been abandoned to their fate by political bosses and planners alike.
The spots in city that daily are witnessing traffic jams are Ajni railway Over-Bridge, Medical Square, Rameshwari Square, Rahate Colony Square, Ramdaspeth, Jhansi Rani Square, Manas Square, Agrasen Square, Mahal, Badkas Chowk, Kalamna, Itwari, Manewada Square, Dighori Square, Kharbi and Sakkardara Square, the two T-points at Manish Nagar-Besa junction. During morning hours between 10 am to 12 pm and in evening from 4 pm to 8 pm every other thoroughfare is jam packed with vehicles trying to find a way out of congestion. Now even Khamla Square and Ajni Square too are daily witnessing traffic snarls and one of the main reasons is criss-cross movement of vehicles. Unless straight traffic rules are adopted the situation is not going to improve and on the contrary worsen with every passing day, feel the experts.
An analysis of the chaos reveals that less deployment of traffic police personnel during the peak hours to regulate the traffic movement. Even the cops who are at square are not forthcoming to intervene and ensure that road users obey the rules. Due to lack of supervision the peak time reveals a total mess on every other thoroughfare.
During the traffic congestion, some of the smart alec are always trying to cut corners and end-up blocking the entire movement of vehicles. Sources informed that top officials of City police are under pressure for crime control due to which they are concentrating more on law and order. Due to this the traffic regulation or control seems to have a back seat leaving citizens to bear with the traffic snarls.
Traffic Branch is under staffed as it is grappling with 25 per cent vacancies that have not been filled to date. As a result there is a shortage of manpower that can be deployed at major thoroughfares during peak time to help avoid traffic congestion.
The police have identified 16 points where traffic congestion is taking place due to water logging. Ravindra Kaskhedikar, a member of the National Road Safety Council, informed The Hitavada’ that the administrative officials are not bothered about the problems faced by the citizens. The underground drainage system is not properly checked and cleared before the monsoon, which was the practice during the British era. The officials have not found any solution for water logging across the city especially under the railway under-bridges and railway under-pass,” he claimed and accused the officials of neglecting their duties. The engineering defects in roads should be immediately solved by the authorities, he demands.
No doubt the number of vehicles plying on roads have increased over the years, yet small interventions are needed and start can be made with bettering the road conditions. Also the city is bestowed with a good arterial road that connects the main roads and smart planning is needed to avoid jams. Kaskhedikar further said it's high time some of the stretches should be made one-way during peak time so that traffic can move fast.
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