HOW TO ESCAPE THE CHAOS: Fruit vendors and hawkers leave little room for vehicles on the road near Secunderabad railway station. - Photo: D. Gopalakrishnan

HYDERABAD: Everyone wants a solution, but no one wants to contribute his bit. This appears to be the main reason why traffic situation in the twin cities is worsening with each passing day.

Take for example the Secunderabad station road. The Gopalpuram line that stretches from the police station to the Ganesh temple beside the railway station is one chaotic stretch passing through which is literally a litmus test.

The narrow road that has several shops on either side has the customers parking their vehicles on the road. This leaves no space for the RTC buses to reach the railway station.

Commotion

Vehicles continuously keep honking, the traffic policeman keeps whistling, the footpath and pushcart vendors keep shouting at the top of their voices to attract customers and the pedestrians and motorists keep grumbling and cursing their fate. It's complete chaos on the station road.

Where vehicles are not parked, pushcart vendors conveniently take over the space. The frequency of buses passing through this road is very high and the RTC drivers also add to the chaos by stopping in the middle of the road on passengers' request. "This leaves no space for other vehicles to move freely. Driving through the stretch is a horrible experience," says Manoj Kumar, a shopkeeper.

Two traffic constables keep whistling at the pushcart vendors to clear the road, but to no avail. While some ignore the presence of the policemen and continue with their trade, other vendors disappear into a nearby lane only to resurface after 15 minutes. The footpath vendors are another lot whom none can remove from the road. Try it and they have their own methods like pelting stones at the policemen and accusing them of harassment.

Autos contribute

"Then there are the nonchalant autorickshaw drivers who park their vehicles along the Gopalpuram line, well knowing that they are contributing to the traffic jam," says a constable posted there.

"Everyday from morning, we try to clear the pushcart vendors. They go into the lanes for sometime and return after a few minutes. If we insist, they argue saying that it is their only means of survival. On one hand, it is their survival and on the other it is the frequent traffic snarls. Who is to be blamed," says another constable. "Nothing will change here," he adds with a smile.

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