Jaipur: As the Public Works Department (PWD) and Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) collaborate to revamp a 7.5-km long city road, including the stretch between Trimurti Circle and OTS Chouraha of JLN Marg into a “model corridor”, the govt bodies face significant obstacles, including street vendor encroachments, traffic congestion and inadequate traffic signals.Encroachments on Service LanesThe first major challenge on this stretch is to ensure that the service roads are free from any encroachments. The service roads in front of Soni Hospital and right adjacent to the Birla Mandir are encroached upon by street vendors selling chats. The situation becomes worse every Wednesday when devotees in large numbers visit the Moti Dungari temple and find no space to park their vehicles.“It would really be a tough challenge for the administration to remove these encroachments. Most of these street vendors hail from Dausa and are very close to a BJP minister and even a Congress MP,” stated Banwari Lal Sharma, president of a street vendors’ association.Left Turns Blocked, Even for Ambulances:At the Takht-E-Shahi Road and Shanti Path crossing, there are dedicated slip lanes and makeshift corridors for vehicles to take left turns. Owing to lack of vigilance by traffic officials, however, most left turning vehicles get stuck in long queues whenever the signals are red. This is because other vehicles intending to take a right turn or head straight are blocking these corridors or slip lanes. No traffic official issues challans or at least takes the pain to realign these vehicles.For vehicles coming from Gandhi Circle and taking a left towards Bhawani Singh Marg at the JDA Crossing, the traffic department constructed a makeshift corridor encouraging the vehicles to take left turns using the service road. However, every time the signal turns red, vehicles heading straight towards the Trimurti Circle overtake other vehicles through this service road and block the mouth of the service road. At times, even ambulances wait at this crossing until the signal turns green.“It is really a pain for me to enter and exit my home. First, the people visiting JDA headquarters block the main gate. If you manage to find the owner and remove the vehicles, you can’t reach the service lane. Whenever the signal is green, vehicles are moving and when it is red, the service road is completely blocked,” said Pramod Patni, who stays in a house near Bhawani Singh Marg corner.Major Traffic Chaos at Two Points:Major traffic chaos takes place during peak hours at two points on this stretch – Gandhi Circle crossing and at OTS Chouraha. Although the traffic department has started deploying constables at the Gandhi Circle during peak hours, the installation of a traffic signal is the need of the hour.At the OTS Chouraha, the JDA is trying to find a solution for ages. First an underpass was proposed, then a cable bridge and finally two cloverleafs on both sides of the crossing were announced but none of the plans have materialised over the years. “We have plans to construct a flyover at this crossing but it would take some time,” said a JDA official.
Encroachments, mismanagement challenge ‘model corridor’ on JLN Marg | Jaipur News
