One-way system gets one month extension from HC

VADODARA, Jan 20: The Gujarat High Court has extended by one more month the contentious one-way traffic system on Telephone Exchange-Kala...

VADODARA, Jan 20: The Gujarat High Court has extended by one more month the contentious one-way traffic system on Telephone Exchange-Kalaghoda and Kalaghoda-Kothi Road even as an association has been formed by residents of Kothi Road to protest against the new system.

According to a spokesman of the city traffic police, the High Court in an order on Monday extended till February 15 the traffic system till the disposal of a petition regarding the one-way system. The next hearing has been posted for the same day. The system was introduced by previous Police Commissioner Kuldip Sharma to ease the chaos on the Station to Kalaghoda road particularly during office hours.

The Kothi Vistaar Nagrik Mandal, an association of residents of the area, are protesting against the new system stating it causes inconvenience to residents who had to take a long roundabout even to go short distance. While they have started an indefinite ram dhun programme to express their anger near Government Printing Press at Anandpura, they would be holding rallies and similar programmes to demand discontinuation of the new system.

The Mandal has claimed it has received support of Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh, while Baroda Bar Association president Narendra Tiwari also thrown his lot with them. Tiwari lambasted the police for challenging the District Court8217;s order against the one-way system and stated that 8220;by their adamant attitude8221;, the police was causing hardship to the citizens. Tiwari, in a statement issued here on Wednesday, expressed his surprise that the vocal MLAs Yogesh Patel and Minister Jaspal Singh had maintained silence on the issue.

It may be recalled that the system had been cancelled soon after it was introduced in September last with objections from various quarters that public view was not taken before starting the new arrangement. The police then invited objections and suggestions from the public, but just about a couple of people wrote back. Subsequently, the system was re-started. This was challenged in the District Court which discontinued it, prompting police to move the High Court.