Noida set to get own transport hub

The newly planned Transport Nagar will free the Noida roads from traffic jams and accord transporters a space for operations,officials said.

The move follows years of demands by Noida’s transporters for a designated site of operations. Noida Authority has now earmarked land in Sector-69 and prepared a detailed map of the site.

The Nagar will boast of parks,wide roads and dedicated commercial zones,apart from small and medium budget hotels. A designated location for commercial vehicles in the district will also ease the traffic situation in the city,officials said. “Commercial vehicles are often found parked illegally,allowing policemen to demand money from the drivers. Flow of traffic is also affected by big trucks parked by the side of roads. The upcoming Nagar will solve this problem,” said Vedpal Chaudhary,president of the Noida Transport Association.

A final map for the upcoming site has been prepared by the planners and will be placed before board members of the Authority for a final approval on October 26.

The transport hub will have 500 plots,each measuring 120 sq m,as parking areas that can accommodate approximately 2,500 vehicles at a time. These will be allotted to the transporters. “The transporters will also have a godown in the basement,offices on the ground floor and resting rooms on the first floor for transporters,drivers and helpers. There will be around 120 shops selling automobile goods. The Authority has also finalised parking spots for big and small commercial vehicles plying with national and state permits.

The Transport Nagar will also have two petrol pumps,one of which will be a CNG station. “We have tried to accommodate suggestions made by transporters during the mapping. We also have green belts and wide roads within the site,along with public conveniences,” a senior official added.

Officials believe the Nagar will offer Delhi roads a respite from heavy commercial vehicles after the Faridabad-Noida-Gurgaon (FNG) Expressway and Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) become operational. “The heavy traffic from Bhagpat,Badaut,Meerut,Hapur,Faridabad,Gurgaon,Rohtak,Sonepat and other areas of Haryana will come directly to the Nagar via FNG and EPE,” the official said.

According to Jai Shankar Tiwari,RTO,Noida,approximately 1,000 to 1,500 commercial vehicles enter Noida on an average every day. “We earn around Rs 7 to 8 crore per month from commercial vehicles,including taxes and other charges,” added Tiwari.