Though most roads in east Delhi roads were widened recently, they are back to square one. The reason is the absence of footpaths or sidewalks, encroachment by makeshift vendors, extension of the existing shops and illegal roadside parking that is causing congestion. The exercise of providing smooth roads, wide pavements and dedicated cycle tracks seems to have become futile.
The joint commissioner of police (traffic), Satyendra Garg took a serious note of the bad condition of roads in a recent meeting with traffic police officers and instructed them to ensure smooth traffic flow, remove roadside encroachers and prosecute violators of traffic rules for better management.
The instructions are yet to be taken seriously by the traffic cops, as the roads are still in a mess with encroachers and haphazard parking. There are no signs that the present encroachment of busy roads and the traffic situation will improve soon. The main link roads in east Delhi such as road no 102, Dallupura Road, Swami Dayanand Road, Vikas Marg, Yamuna Vihar Road and Narwana Road in IP Extension are also the most encroached.
Says BS Vohra, a resident of Krishna Nagar, “Roads are meant for the movement of vehicles. But here, the roads are used as a market, parking lot and shops. The Krishna Nagar and Geeta Colony roads, the main connecting roads to ITO and nearby colonies are one such example. During rush hours, it is difficult to drive on these roads.” Says Parveen Sharma of Naveen Shahdara, “If encroachers are allowed to continue, soon they will grab major road space and traffic movement will be restricted to a narrow strip.” “The traffic department has been removing roadside auto repair shops and illegal parking. We have impounded several vehicles for violation,” said Amrik Singh, assistant commissioner of police (traffic), east.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK
