No proper footpath, poor road design: What’s wrong with the top two deadliest stretches in Delhi

In the first part of this series, The Indian Express looks at the two most notorious on the list — Outer Delhi’s Mukarba Chowk and Khampur village.

MUKARBA CHOWK

With 23 accidents that left 12 dead and 14 injured, Mukarba Chowk was on top of the list in 2022. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, the crucial traffic intersection between Jahangirpuri and Burari connecting it to Azadpur, had figured at number 3 on the 10 blackspots list. In 2021, it saw 18 accidents that claimed 7 lives and left 15 injured. (see box)

According to observations by the traffic police, the problem areas at the intersection include a discontinuity in pedestrian infrastructure (lack of a footpath). Said the report, “There is absence of core area demarcation in the form of chevron markings, solar studs and flexible bollards… the lift on Hedgewar Marg is also dysfunctional.”

An officer said the flyover sees more vehicular collisions as vehicles drive at high speed. At the junction, most of the casualties involve pedestrians, he said.

Ground report

When The Indian Express visited the junction at 2 pm on July, commuters could be seen darting across the road even as oncoming traffic, mostly four-wheelers and heavy vehicles, whizzed past the nearly kilometre-long stretch in the absence of a traffic signal or any speed-calming measures. There was neither a pedestrian nor zebra crossing.

Four ramps as well as escalators connected the two ends on either side of the junction through the Shaheed Vikram Batra Chowk flyover which runs horizontally to Mukarba Chowk towards Rohini.

The day The Indian Express visited, the escalators were non-functional and commuters said they preferred crossing the busy junction at the road surface level instead of taking the ramp.

The road is mostly populated by buses though there is neither a proper bus stand nor a bus bay. The service lane, where the buses halt, is chock-a-block with e-rickshaws, pick-up vans and several commuters.

Deepak, a worker at a cloth factory, who frequently takes a bus to Burari from Mukarba Chowk, said, “Service lane meant for buses to halt and pick up commuters is mostly taken over by e-rickshaws and four-wheelers… it becomes difficult to board the bus due to the congestion.”

Deepak said people rarely use the escalator and mostly cross the road haphazardly amidst vehicles. “It’s just easier and it takes less time… however, a zebra crossing or a traffic signal should be brought in place,” he added.

Road safety expert Professor PK Sarkar, who has in the past been involved in analysis of the city’s black spots, told The Indian Express: “Though there is a provision for pedestrians to cross at the junction in the form of a stairwell linked to the flyover above, built on either side and connecting opposite ends of the junction, there is lack of awareness and it ends in commuters crossing the road.”

He added that buses stop at the mouth of the junction posing a major risk and leaving the possibility for accidents open.

A senior traffic officer said, “There is a lack of awareness among the public as no one wants to use the path leading up to the flyover to get to the other end of the road… It is also very difficult to challan vehicles on this stretch as most of them travel at high speed; stopping them would mean more congestion.”

The officer said appropriate deployment of traffic officers is made based on vehicular movement. “There are certain infrastructural problems which need to be improved… Mukarba Chowk will become crucial over the next month as kanwariyas will travel through that stretch,” he added.

The solution

Suggestions by experts to reduce accidents on the stretch included provision of pedestrian infrastructure, speed-calming measures such as flexible bollards and solar studs among others, and functional lifts for pedestrians to use.

Solar studs are installed at regular intervals on roads to inform drivers to drive along the lanes and indicate the direction of the road at night, while flexible bollards are used for ensuring a safe pathway for pedestrians.

KHAMPUR VILLAGE

This particular stretch, at least 5 to 6-km long, goes towards Singhu border from West Delhi’s Peeragarhi. The stretch and junction around Khampur village had witnessed 19 accidents last year, in which 10 people had died and 12 sustained injuries.

Experts and police found that the metal crash barrier at the stretch is far from the edge of the footpath, which can lead to tyre sidewall damage. Experts also found damaged road infrastructure at the Khampur junction which leads to accidents, mostly during evening hours.

Ground report

When The Indian Express visited the junction around 2.30 pm, below the flyover, it found damaged pavements and no zebra crossings or pedestrian railing guards. Most heavy vehicles heading towards the Singhu border often use the junction to take a U-turn. However, due to lack of traffic signages, speed bumpers or a traffic signal, vehicles were seen going the wrong way.

Officers said due to lack of speed breakers and rumble strips, vehicles often take sharp turns below the flyover, increasing chances of accidents.

Sinku, a truck driver travelling through Khampur Chowk, said traffic congestion around the stretch is minimal even during peak hours. He, however, pointed to lack of any traffic signages and a damaged junction. “A signal at the intersection will help regulate traffic when there is a lot of heavy vehicle movement… The footpath on the sides is also broken and even the road on the junction has remained damaged for a long time,” he said.

On problems on this particular stretch, Professor Sarkar said, “The at-grade junction should have addressed proper traffic control and engineering methods such as designing and channelising traffic with delineators, lane-line markings, signages and hazard and object marks.”

A senior traffic officer posted around Khampur Chowk said, “Most fatalities occur when people who live nearby, mostly the migrant population, try to cross the road at night. There is no foot-over-bridge in the vicinity.”

The solution

As per the traffic police report, there is a need for the provision of a foot overbridge at Khatu Sham Mandir area on NH-44. It also called for increasing the height of the median to 2 metres and the need for retaining the exit point from NH-44.