The Hindu : New Delhi News : Commuters hail Naraina demolitions

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Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Commuters hail Naraina demolitions

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 1. Motorists passing through the Ring Road stretch near Naraina in South-West Delhi are a happier lot these days as their travel time has been reduced by 15 to 20 minutes, thanks to a massive encroachment removal drive carried out by the Public Works Department in the area this past Sunday.

A drive along the 700-odd metre long stretch on Ring Road passing through Naraina was a nightmare as a large number of shopkeepers have encroached on the road, using it both to stock goods and park vehicles. Due to encroachments over the past three decades, this stretch had become a major stumbling block in making the entire Ring Road a smooth thoroughfare. Even the construction of two major flyovers, one at Dhaula Kuan and the other at Mayapuri, on this stretch of Ring Road failed to ensure smooth flow of traffic due to encroachments in Naraina where traffic jams had become the order of the day. So, for the Delhi Government it was important to clear this major "road block" in order to realise its dream of making Ring Road a signal-free and smooth driving experience. So this past Sunday when vehicular traffic was thin on this stretch due to closure of offices, the road was blocked and a large number of bulldozers levelled this major bottleneck. Interestingly, the drive met with no resistance from shopkeepers and local residents and the entire drive was carried out peacefully. And by evening, around 400 illegal structures were cleared and around 50 feet of area on either side of the road was gained in one of the biggest demolition drive in the city that was assisted by the police and other government agencies including Delhi Jal Board, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited and private power distribution companies.

From the next day itself, the civic agencies started work on the cleared stretch to prevent encroachments from coming back. The road is being widened and necessary arrangements made to see that this stretch remains free for motorists. And people too are appreciating this long-awaited move. "I remember getting stuck for at least 30 minutes during peak morning and evening hours near Naraina every day. The passage was so narrow due to encroachments that vehicular traffic used to get converted into a single lane, causing long jams. But now this bottleneck has been cleared and the ride from Punjabi Bagh to Dhaula Kuan has become very smooth," said Anil Kumar, a information technology executive who lives in Punjabi Bagh and attends his office near Moti Bagh.

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