RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Jan.7: Though it was never a smooth drive in the Jharkhand capital, the beginning of construction of the three flyovers has added to the trouble of the commuters.
The reason is that the companies and state government authorities have begun the job without providing proper pucca service lanes for the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.
Three days back, the Jharkhand High Court had summoned S.P.(traffic) to seek a clarification regarding the problem after one of the judges got stuck in the jam due to poor traffic arrangement following the beginning of flyover construction exercise in Doranda locality, the problem is yet to be sorted out.
Dinesh Agrawal, who runs his business from Pandra Market, said that he has stopped using his car due to the poor road condition near Piska More where work on the construction of a flyover has started. “One can get stuck in a jam anywhere due to poor service roads. Now I use my Scooty to ensure that I can reach my marketing shade on time without getting stuck in a jam,” Agrawal, a resident of Kanke Road, said.
Gautam Kar, who runs Manisha Electricals at Bahu Bazar, echoed Agrawal.
“Footfalls at my shop have drastically dropped as people avoid coming to this locality since the flyover construction work has started without a service road. I do not think the flyover will be completed within less than two years and I will have to suffer during the period,” Kar said, expressing his concern over the poor monitoring of flyover construction work.
A government accredited Jharkhand Andlonkari Prabhakar supported the problem of Kar and Agrawal saying the rule does not permit anyone to start constructing flyovers before constructing a service road as flyovers are constructed in only those areas where traffic load is high.
“The government should immediately take action in the matter and ask the persons involved in the construction work,” Prabhakar said.
A JUIDCO official requesting anonymity said the problem will be sorted out soon. “Service roads are not required in Doranda. In Ratu Road, a service road is available. As far as the service road near Kanta Toli flyover is concerned, it is under construction and will be completed very soon,” he said.
Probed further, the official suggested contacting the state road construction department officials.
Contacted executive engineer (monitoring) at headquarters, Mahadeb Mardi, he directed the question to the executive engineer of Ranchi division, Mansoor, who could not be contacted for his comment despite five calls in between 5.10pm to 6.13pm.
