Cops on poll duty, one-way traffic plan goes for a toss in Nurpur

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, April 19

The one-way traffic rule notified by the Kangra district administration in November last year and enforced in Nurpur town on December 1 has been reduced to a farce, thanks to the apathy of the local authorities.

The traffic plan had initially been implemented strictly with wide publicity, but it has virtually flopped three months after its implementation.

The violation of traffic rules has become a norm ever since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 16.

With the police personnel earlier deployed at entry and exit points of the town conspicuous by their absence since the implementation of the code of conduct, traffic violators are throwing caution to the wind.

The roadside haphazard parking of vehicles has added to the woes of visitors to the town, especially during the peak hours.

The idle parking creates traffic bottlenecks in the busy and congested markets in the town.

In order to ensure smooth traffic movement and check frequent jams in the town, the administration, in collaboration with the police and Municipal Council (MC), had enforced the one-way traffic plan on December 5, 2023.

Exercising the powers vested under Section 113 of the Motor Vehicles Act, the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate of Kangra had issued a notification for a new traffic plan for

Nurpur town.

As per the traffic plan, the entry of four-wheelers was allowed from the Chogan side, whereas exit was permitted from the Niazpur and Court Road ends. Vehicles coming from the Housing Board Colony area could exit from the Chogan side.

Under the one-way traffic plan, the main market, Chogan market and Niazpur market had been declared as no-parking zones. Mini-Secretariat parking space, Municipal Council parking in Ward 4, Housing Board Colony parking, a parking complex near Hanuman temple, court complex and Bachat Bhawan areas had been notified as parking zones.

In order to ensure smooth movement of four-wheelers, the roadside parking of two-wheelers was restricted.

The MC was asked by the local administration to identify temporary parking spaces for two-wheelers in streets or other vacant spaces so customers and shopkeepers can park their vehicles.

So far, the MC has not identified these locations and the problem of roadside parking of two-wheelers remains as such.

Back in May 2015, the local administration had installed two automatic barricades on the exit points of the town to enforce the one-way traffic plan. Over Rs 1.70 lakh was spent on purchase of the barricades, which were set up with financial assistance from the Municipal Council (MC). However, the barricades have been gathering dust for the past five years. Also, police canopies built along with the barricades to control traffic have turned garbage dumps.

Sources in the police reveal that the personnel deployed on the entry and exit points in the town for enforcing the one-way traffic plan have been shifted to the pre-election duty.

After the poll code implementation, they are part of flying squads and inter-state check posts across the district. The Nurpur ASP and DSP were not available for their comments.

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