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Journalism of Courage
Delhi Traffic Police have written to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) asking them not to block the arterial Mehrauli-Badarpur Road along which the Golden Line of the Delhi Metro is being built.
The Traffic Police are learnt to have specifically demanded compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the main air pollution watchdog for Delhi-NCR, on restrictions specified under the various stages of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), including immediate removal of construction material and debris.
Road and construction dust is seen as a major contributor to particulate pollution in the capital. The Indian Express has reported earlier that the Prime Minister’s Office has been taking stock of action to curb major sources of pollution including dust and vehicular emissions, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has directed all stakeholder departments to focus on checking dust pollution.
Additional Commissioner of Police Dinesh Kumar Gupta wrote to DMRC’s Chief Project Manager on November 24 pointing out that “during the ongoing construction, DMRC officials and the contractor YFC [Projects] have repeatedly blocked portions of the carriageway without prior intimation or permission from Delhi Traffic Police”.
“Such uncoordinated road blockages are causing severe traffic hazards and disrupting smooth movement of traffic,” the letter said.
Addl CP Gupta specifically mentioned an incident on November 22 when, he said, “both carriageways of MB (Mehrauli-Badarpur) Road were blocked around 10 pm for nearly one hour without any prior information, resulting in massive traffic congestion. Traffic movement along Ravidas Marg and Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg was severely affected.”
The 22-km MB Road connects South Delhi and South-East Delhi to Gurgaon and Faridabad in Haryana, and is a critical traffic artery for Saket, Chhattarpur, Sainik Farms, Tughlaqabad, Kalkaji, and Mehrauli. More than 2 lakh four-wheel vehicles and 50,000 two-wheelers are estimated to travel down the length of the road during peak hours every day. Any obstruction directly impacts a large number of commuters, the Traffic Police have flagged.
Police sources said Delhi Metro authorities had not responded to the letter until Tuesday evening. However, in response to a query by The Indian Express, a DMRC spokesperson said traffic was impacted for a short time after a “crane under loaded condition” broke down on one of the carriageways of the road, and a standby crane had to be commissioned to “release the faulty crane”.
“…Immediate necessary action was taken by the DMRC team and adequate space for smooth movement of vehicles was made available at the earliest. All concerned staff and officials have been advised to work in close coordination with the traffic authorities in future works to avoid any inconvenience to the public. DMRC shall also monitor the same with complete sincerity,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Traffic Police sources said they had received complaints on social media and distress calls in the traffic control room from commuters. Among those who reached out to police was a pregnant woman who told them she was in pain, the sources said.
“No portion of the road shall be blocked, cordoned off, or obstructed without proper approval. Before commencing any work likely to affect traffic, DMRC must share an alternate Traffic Management Plan and obtain necessary clearance. Tin sheds and barricading must be realigned/ squeezed to maximize carriageway space for smooth movement of vehicles,” the Traffic Police said in its letter.
(With inputs from Devansh Mittal)
