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Gurugram caught in gridlock

U-TURNS:‘Gurujam’ is the demeaning title that millennium city Gurugram earned in July 2016.

Gurugram caught in gridlock

A huge traffic jam near Ambience Mall in Gurugram, at the Delhi border on Thursday. Tribune Photos: S Chandan



Sumedha Sharma

‘Gurujam’ is the demeaning title that millennium city Gurugram earned in July 2016. Heavy rains had lashed Gurugram, leading to flash floods and thousands of vehicles getting stranded. For 20 hours, virtual gridlock was witnessed in the city. It was not only ridiculed in the national media but it also became the biggest topic on social media.

The jam led to months of discussions on traffic woes of northern India’s sole IT and automobile hub. It also served as the worst nightmare for the authorities and residents, who get upset even at its mention. For many this was the first time that Gurugram saw a huge traffic jam, while the city was actually introduced to mad vehicular rush in 2008 when the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway was thrown open to public. People, who had learnt to quietly bear with a few minute’s of congestion at old city intersections or around construction sites along the expressway, were aghast at being caught in serpentine queues of vehicles waiting at now dismantled Sirhaul toll plaza, clogged entry and exit points, unannounced diversions and on lanes leading to Delhi in the evening and the morning.

The expressway extending up to Jaipur is the busiest inter-city route in India and handles more than 1.8 lakh passenger car units (PCUs) every day. Despite the  construction of new flyovers and underpasses, frequent route diversion experiments by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and removal of a toll plaza, Gurugram is still struggling to deal with traffic chaos on the expressway. The situation aggravated with the advent of the Metro train in Gurugram. While the Metro service brought much required connectivity, no improvement in traffic was experienced owing to poor planning and location of stations, a spurt in population, and vehicular density.

According to official estimates, the population of Gurugram will be around 30 lakh by 2030. At present, the population is serviced by about a 1,000-km primary road network. Around 17 lakh people make about 20 lakh trips to the city every day, two-thirds of which within the city limits. Gurugram is a classic example of chaotic mobility and experts cite three main reasons for it: Poor road planning, construction and management based on traffic myths 

Planned for four-wheelers

Every road in the city has been planned for four-wheelers or heavy automobiles, thinking all residents move in cars. A recent study by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) highlighted that within the city limits, people still prefer to walk (27%), followed by two-wheeler users (26%), car users (10%) and cyclists (4%). The remaining 33 per cent comprise people who use both formal and informal modes of public transport such as auto-rickshaws, taxis, buses, Metro and trains. This fact was never considered while building roads and planning more routes, leaving no lanes for two-wheelers or pedestrians.

Less road space

The average transit space on any road in Gurugram is almost 40 per cent less than planned, thanks to encroachments. Be it malls built along roads, or public transport vehicles parked illegally, a majority of roads such as the MG Road witness major traffic congestion due to encroachments. The malls have extended their green belts onto roads or have cordoned off service lanes; auto-rickshaws and taxis remain parked in service lanes or on roads below the MG Road Metro station or outside the Huda Metro station the whole day. Policemen leave behind barricades used for setting up nakas during night, constraining traffic movement. A similar situation is witnessed at most of the intersections in the city. 

U-turns, road diversions

As part of revamped traffic engineering, there is a trend in the city to replace intersections with U-turns. Even pedestrians and cyclists can’t cross roads. Blockade of intersections forces cyclists and pedestrians to violate traffic rules, as detours are often long and impractical, leading to fatal accidents. 

Similarly, repeated closure of U-turns or roads and experimental diversions lead to wrong-side driving and high vehicular density on some roads, causing traffic jams.

High vehicular density

Most of the traffic congestion points in the city have one of the highest vehicular densities in the National Capital Region (NCR). It is a fact that neither roads nor intersections were designed to bear traffic jams, now a routine. The authorities concerned have been busy building new roads, flyovers and underpasses, but more roads only see more traffic and chaos. A regulatory mechanism restricting the number of vehicles plying on a particular road is a must or the vehicular density will aggravate the situation.

Poor traffic management

Besides poor engineering of roads and high vehicular density, poor traffic management is to be blamed for the chaos on roads. With just 1,500 policemen deputed mostly to issue challans or on VIP duty, managing traffic is a herculean task. Every day social media is full of complaints about absent traffic police or poor traffic management. 

Main problem areas

The Huda City Center Station and nearby roads in all directions and the Sector 31 red light witness taffic jams.

The Arya Samaj road that connects the Huda City Centre with the Bakhtawar Chowk probably remains the most congested route throughout the day. Several measures such as barricades around the Huda City Centre, footbridges in front of the Metro station, traffic signals at the Sector 40 intersection and a roundabout at the Bakhtawar Chowk have failed to unclog this 4-km stretch. Driving on this road, particularly during office hours, is nothing less than a nightmare. 

The road that also goes to Cyber Park, Sectors 40, 44, 45, 46 and 47 and Medanta Hospital has three major bottlenecks — intersections with the Sector 40 road, Santosh Yadav Marg, and Bhagwan Mahaveer Marg. The key reasons for the chaos are illegal parking of auto-rickshaws and taxis and the absence of traffic police.

Sirhaul border

Being the key entry and exit point between Gurugram and Delhi, it has been witnessing traffic jams since 2008. Even after the dismantling of the toll plaza, the traffic chaos has not eased. The area witnesses massive jams, especially during festival times. The border point also forms a vital link between Gurugram and Delhi and all office-goers moving towards Udyog Vihar, DLF Phase-3 and Ambience Lagoon also use the stretch. Serpentine lines of cars headed to the IGI Airport are a common sight. Jams also occur near Ambience Mall where an underpass is being built. The underpass will be constructed in three stages at a cost of Rs 103 crore. It will measure 377 metres in length with 13 lanes. The project is estimated to end in August 2020, according to sources.

Unique set of traffic issues, says Commissioner of Police 

"Gurugram city has a unique set of traffic issues. I will not say that there is a shortage of traffic policemen, as there are various other reasons responsible for the situation. A large number of vehicles but less road space, illegal vehicle parking, various engineering defects and lack of traffic sense or respect for traffic rules all lead to major jams. Gurugram faces congestion during office hours, as thousands of people come here from Delhi or other areas to work. This leads to congestion not only on the expressway but also on the capillary road network in the city. We have been taking various initiatives and as per the records the duration and frequency of jams at identified vulnerable points have reduced considerably. At present, our priority is to free side lanes and roads from illegal parking. We have got 24 cranes from the Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) for the purpose"  KK Rao, Commissioner of Police

Busy IFFCO Chowk

The IFFCO Chowk leads to the National Highway No. 8 and travellers use this stretch for multiple destinations. For those travelling long distances such as to Jaipur and Alwar or towards south-west, central and north-west Delhi or the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the intersection is the main entry and exit point. For those commuting within Gurugram, the IFFCO Chowk leads to the MG Road, DLF Phase-4 and the Huda City Centre. During peak hours, almost 15,000 passenger cars cross this junction and the bumper-to-bumper traffic leads to chaos. The extended U-turn has solved some problems at this intersection but the vehicular rush has now shifted to the MG Road. 

Congestion points

  • Hero Honda Chowk
  • Rajiv Chowk
  • Jharsa Chowk
  • Signature Tower Chowk 
  • Shankar Chowk
  • Subhash Chowk
  • Golf Course Extension Road 
  • Intersection on Sohna Road
  • Main chowk in Sohna
  • Maharana Pratap Chowk
  • Atul Kataria Chowk
  • IMT Manesar Chowk
  • MDI flyover
  • Sector14 /17 light point
  • Fountain Chowk, Old City

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