Nagarites8217; traffic woes see no end

AHMEDNAGAR, Nov 20: The gruesome accident killing of a mother-son due -- Suvarna and Arun Yemul -- a week before, has left many sensitive Na...

AHMEDNAGAR, Nov 20: The gruesome accident killing of a mother-son due 8212; Suvarna and Arun Yemul 8212; a week before, has left many sensitive Nagarites restless, especially about the swelling traffic on narrow city roads, reckless drivers and unpremeditated authorities.

A cross section of citizens whom this reporter talked to have taken the November 12 mishap on Manmad Road seriously. Said Mayur Dabhade, a student of the Vikhe Patil College of Engineering who uses a motor cycle: Traffic has been a great deal on Nagar-Manmad road. The road is narrow and the recent addition to a chaos is the six seaters.

Further there are no dividers segregating up and down traffic and what is needed is traffic signals at Savedi Naka and at least some speed breakers, he stressed. Ritesh Firodia suggested that the traffic problem could be solved by having separate lanes for the two wheelers and the heavey vehicles. Savedi was growing problematic day-by-day as far as traffic woes are concerned since the area has a stringe of major hospitals, a few schools and an engineering college. All these were bound to create traffic snarls, he quipped.

Mornings in Savedi and newly developing areas on the outskirts of Ahmednagar are no more crisp and fresh, for chocking traffic, specially between 7.30 am and 8 am. The outskirts see a rush of shcool going children and office goers amid the incoming heavy vehicles speeding into the city.

A primary teacher Suvarna Yemul and her 20-year-old son were crushed to death when a speeding truck had rammed into their two wheeler while overtaking an autorickshaw on Novermber 12.

Even after the local municipal council taking certain ad-hoc steps in the area following the accident that shocked Ahmednagar, many like Firodia were not satisfied. Especially sore over entry of the six-seaters, Firodia made it a point that the six seaters be banned from entering this area for two reasons. One, he said, rash driving and secondly it was really hard to ascertain when the chap driving in front of you would stop to pick up or drop his passangers.

Jayant Yeyulkar, an Ahmednagar Municipal Council member representing T V centre area said that the concept of ring roads be adopted to ease the flow of traffic. The thought was also shared by AMC president Suresh Shelke.

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Yeyulkar was however irritated about the location of AMC8217;s Savedi octroi post, which he said was adding to the problem. Vehicles stopping at the octroi post creat long queues and subsequently traffic hazards. Hence, the octroi post be shifted, he demanded.

Even as traffic has remained a problem here, they were needed to change their driving habits, a senior police officials said requesting anonymity. 8220;Here, having number plates for the two wheeler is considered to be of low dignity for the drivers,8221; he said. The officer further pointed out resistance faced by anti-encroachment and road widening drives from the people in general and politicians and so called social workers in particular.

Narrow roads, lack of parking lots add to the problems of the city, he said recalling a recent fire in Ganj Bazar where Army8217;s well-equipped fire tender had not been used just beacuse it could not enter the narrow lane where at least three shops were standing amidst leaping flames.