Rising vehicular traffic creates chaos and traffic jams in the city
A busy street in Vijayawada city. The city is witnessing a sharp rise in the number of vehicles while its roads are insufficient to accommodate them. (Photo: DC)
VIJAYAWADA: One of the most important industrial cities of the state, Vijayawada, has been witnessing a rise in the number of vehicles in the past few years. As the city has assumed the role of state capital post-bifurcation, this trend is going to continue.
To accommodate the increasing vehicular traffic, authorities are gearing up for widening the roads as per government orders, said regional transport officials. According to official records, the city has witnessed a growth of 9.13 per cent in the number of vehicle registrations compared to previous year. At present city roads are insufficient to handle the increasing traffic, leading to traffic jams and chaos.
The regional transport authorities don’t have the authority to control the rising number of vehicles. "Honestly speaking, the city roads are not capable to handle the rush. But we are powerless and are merely confined to limiting the number of auto-rickshaws," said RTO, Purendra.
As per the data available with the road transport officials, the city itself has 7,10,000 vehicles, including transport and non-transport and 9,80,000 vehicles in the district. "There are some places in the city where we have to take up road widening on a war footing, while the other roads are barely sufficient at the present conditions. Plans are approved and we are waiting for the orders," said Roads and Buildings executive engineer Madhav.
Residents, who are facing difficulties due to the long traffic jams in recent days are demanding quick widening of roads. Some residents say that wider roads can reduce the traffic jams to some extent. Meanwhile, several alternative plans are in the offing to reduce the traffic chaos, like constructing more fly overs and active usage of bypass transport system. However, all these plans and proposals are still at the discussion level and might take time to materialise.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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