While commuting in Delhi one has felt increasingly miserable in the past few years. Thankfully research reports have also appeared that indicate that poor road conditions in the national capital have led to sluggish traffic conditions.
According to these reports, traffic in the city moves at half the speed of what the roads are designed for. The major arterial roads in Delhi are designed to achieve a driving speed of 50-70 km per hour and the regulated speed, as decided by the traffic police, is 40-55 km per hour.
However, surveys by agencies such as the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) among others, have observed that the average speed on these roads now is 26-27 kilometres per hour. A commuter in Delhi takes almost double the time to travel to the destination wasting precious fuel and man-hours.
Worse, traffic on the weekends is sometimes slower than on the weekdays on the account of the large number of personal vehicles coming onto the roads. The congestions on the roads are on two counts, one absence of a robust public transport system and two sluggish paces of the work undertaken by the government agencies.
Mukarba Chowk and Ashram Chowk, the main entry points from northern and the southern side respectively into the heart of the city have been lying choked for past three-to-four years. On the eastern flank, the roads to trans-Yamuna areas have been clogged at Sarai Kale Khan on the account of never-ending work on Bhairon Marg and near Maharani Bagh.
The completion of underpass work at Ashram has missed six deadlines. The Bhairon Marg tunnel project is behind schedule by 23 months. The work on the underpass between Mukarba Chowk and Burari is two years late. Barapullah Phase 3 was to be completed in October 2017 and it’s nowhere near completion even after five years.
To add to misery is the fast decaying work culture of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. About a quarter of a century ago, when E Sreedharan, the legendary Metro Man started the construction work of Delhi Metro, their worksites were showcased as being managed in the most modern manner. Closed enclosures, safety measures and most importantly, least harassment to the moving traffic, were hallmarks of their work culture.
One recalls having done a report in those days about the Delhi Metro security men managing traffic better than the Delhi Police cops. This left the then chief traffic cop Qamar Ahmed, though a very fine professional himself, fuming at the comparison. However, the same cannot be said of the metro sites today.
Those travelling from Mukarba to Madhuban Chowk in North-West Delhi would vouch how the work at snail’s pace on the pink line has left them in a wretched state, both physically and mentally.
Several bottlenecks have been created on this road starting from Haiderpur Metro Station to Pitampura Metro Station. Sadly, the speed of work shows that the painful situation is going to persist for some more time. When Public Works Department and Delhi Metro have done their bit in creating congestion on the roads, can Delhi Police be left behind? High Court has in fact last week issued a notice to Delhi Police asking what purpose did unmanned barricades on the roads served. The court has observed, “These unmanned blockades of roads prima facie serve no purpose and do indeed cause inconvenience and harassment to the public at large.”
We may be looking at another judicial intervention, this time to decongest the roads of Delhi. This is unfortunate but it seems to be the only panacea for the city’s problems.
Sidharth Mishra
Author and President, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice