Diversion at Nal Stop will worsen traffic in monsoon, claim activists

Pune: The diversion at Nal Stop planned to facilitate metro construction is causing serious concerns of road safety among residents and travellers of the area. A group of civic activists met Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ashok Morale to discuss a possible solution that can be implemented to avoid traffic chaos and jams.

Interestingly, twice, the trial plan of Rotary Club at Nal Stop on Karve Road has failed on the stretch of Paud Phata - Nal Stop on Karve Road. The traffic from Paud Phata to Nal Stop junction will turn left at SNDT junction and be routed via Canal Road and Law College Road. Karve Road from Nal Stop junction to SNDT junction will be made one way towards Kothrud / Paud Road.

The local residents said that a similar plan implemented on a trial basis in June 2017 was abandoned on the first day itself. “We could to notice certain modifications recently done to widen the roads, such as reduction in footpath width, removal of cycle tracks, shifting of bus stops, etc.

At present, there is no footpath from Kothrud police station at Paud Phata junction and on Karve Road up to SNDT junction. Moreover, the left side of the Canal Road has become unfit for walking in certain sections and the bus stops further block the entire road. If a bus halts at that narrow width, then no other vehicle can pass from that road,” said Raja Chakroborty, a local hawker.

The critical junction of Paud Phata and SNDT has about seven to eight schools in the area. Suchi Ranjani, a parent who comes to pick up and drop her son in Abhinava Vidyalaya pre-primary school, said, “The right side of the Abhinava school lane where school vehicles and others halt to drop or pick up children is now closed. We have to park our vehicles 100 metres away from the school. When the vehicles stand there even for two to five minutes to pick up children, there is a traffic jam. We fear this condition may get worse in the rainy season when all schools will re-open after vacation and there will be water-logging in these areas. ”

Prashant Inamdar, Conveyor of Pedestrians First said, “During our meeting with Morale, we discussed these serious concerns and questioned about the situation in the area. With continuous, heavy, bumper to bumper and edge to edge traffic on the roads, reduced width, unfit footpaths, it will become very difficult and dangerous for pedestrians to walk on the footpath or at the roadside. Crossing the road at any junction or intermediate location on the road will become a high risk task for them.”