The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Plan for better traffic system on the anvil

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 27, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Plan for better traffic system on the anvil

By Vikram Sharma

HYDERABAD, APRIL 26. A bus stand for every 500 metres, encroachments all over, inadequate service roads and road widening, nuisance by seven-seater autorickshaws and accidents involving pedestrians -- the present situation of the traffic system in Cyberabad has been summed up thus by a four-member team from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in a study it carried out for traffic management.

A report incorporating the observations, which are part of a multi-pronged plan the Cyberabad traffic police is working on to streamline traffic management in its jurisdiction, was submitted to the Cyberabad police recently. As part of the plan, a team of the Cyberabad traffic police will also tour the four Metropolitan cities in the country shortly, beginning with Mumbai, to study the traffic management in the metros. The team, headed by the Cyberabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic), Bhavna Saxena, will filter the best options from the traffic management systems in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai and later implement the same in Cyberabad.

As for the report, based on which a proposal will be submitted to the Technical Traffic Advisory Committee, the four-member team from the Centre for Transportation Engineering of JNTU, headed by P.R. Bhanu Murthy, has been carrying out a study on traffic management for Cyberabad for the last one year, going around main junctions at Hayatnagar, Vanasthalipuram, LB Nagar, Nagole crossroads, Dilsukhnagar, Kothapet fruit market, Panama junction and Rajiv Chowk. Another 25 junctions will be covered in the coming months after which further reports will be submitted.

Based on its observations in the first report, the JNTU team has recommended construction of over-bridges and subways, widening of roads and removal of encroachments to improve the traffic flow. "We are going to have a meeting with the Technical Traffic Advisory Committee next week and present a proposal to implement these suggestions. Initially, we will work towards removing encroachments. We do not want to do anything unscientific and without professional help. After all, it incurs a lot of expenditure," Ms. Saxena says.

The committee, headed by the Cyberabad Police Commissioner, M. Mahendar Reddy, comprises officials from the National Highway Authority, MCH and the Roads and Buildings department.

The police are also looking at ways to solve the lack of manpower currently worrying the Cyberabad traffic wing, which is functioning with a mere 100 personnel, led by two inspectors and one Assistant Commissioner of Police. The only traffic police stations are those at LB Nagar and Kukatpally. "We have sent a proposal to the Government to sanction more policemen to the traffic department," the DCP says. Further, in-service courses are being imparted to the traffic policemen on how to deal with violators. As many as 60 policemen have already been imparted training in two batches, Ms. Saxena says.

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