HP to get traffic control tips from China

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 28

Himachal could take traffic regulation tips from Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou in China to adopt a multi-pronged strategy, including developing a good public transport system.

The gravity of the problem can be gauged from the fact that the issue will be discussed by the Committee of Secretaries, comprising the top brass of the bureaucracy, including the Chief Secretary and all Additional Chief Secretaries. It is likely to look at developing a good transport system, restricting purchase of vehicles and mandatory parking space being a pre-requisite before the purchase of vehicle.

With most roads, many of these constructed during the British rule, planned to take the burden of very limited number of vehicles, the increase in the number of vehicles in Shimla, Dharamsala, Dalhousie, Kasauli and Manali has become a major problem. The state capital alone has almost 80,000 vehicles registered with the local authorities, besides thousands of other vehicles with outside numbers plying here.

“The traffic congestion is an issue which needs some brainstorming session so that some remedial steps can be taken to rid our towns of the problem. We have studied the traffic system of Beijing and Shanghai and seeing the practicality of the remedies, we could take some steps,” said Acting Chief Secretary Vineet Chawdhry.

He said creating more parking lots was not the answer to traffic congestion and other ways would have to be looked into. He admitted that the practicality and feasibility of such measures would have to be taken into account before arriving at a final decision.

The existing parking lots, be it in Shimla, Manali or Dharamsala, are inadequate and by the time any new project is completed, the number of vehicles would be far more than its capacity. Shimla has the parking facility for only 711 vehicles while 188 are parked on roads.

Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma had informed the Assembly that 49 new sites had been identified for construction of parking lots with a capacity of 2,012 vehicles. The government is looking at option such as setting up aerial ropeways so as to restrict entry of vehicles into the town.

Traffic jams in Shimla and most other parts of the town have become a permanent feature, causing harassment to locals as well as tourists. The situation during the tourist season is so grave that there are traffic jams for hours together. The misery of commuters on roads which have round the clock movement of trucks ferrying cement and apples is nothing short of a nightmare.