New Delhi: In a bid to ease the traffic congestion on the Chandni Chowk road, Delhi govt has said that as many as 75 home guards will be deployed by the end of this week.
Govt directions came after lieutenant governor VK Saxena visited the stretch on Dec 6 and found the traffic management “not up to the mark.” Subsequently, the home department directed the director general of home guards to deploy 75 home guards—30 for the management of boom barriers and the remaining 45 for overall traffic management on the main road and Netaji Subhash Marg.
The stretch, which was redeveloped in 2021, has been facing problems like overcrowding of cycle rickshaws, parking on footpaths, and violation of rules pertaining to non-motorised zones and manning of boom barriers. The markets and other trading activities have further led to heavy congestion on the road, stretching from Delhi Gate to Jamuna Bazar. The auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws parked next to each other have been hindering pedestrian movement. Adding to the woes is the traffic light intersection between the Red Fort and the main Chandni Chowk road, which acts as a major roadblock.
“At present, the entire project and pedestrianisation is in a state of limbo, and the restrictions have not been put in place yet by the traffic police. The entire infrastructure is in a bad state,” said Sanjay Bhargava.
There are around 22 boom barriers that have been installed at various entrances of internal roads connected to the main road to prevent vehicle owners from entering the road between 9 am and 9 pm. However, these are lying unmanned, which leads to violations. Now, after the deployment of home guards, the situation is expected to improve.
On the same road, to facilitate convenient movement of visitors to historical spots, the Delhi Transport Corporation has been directed to start a pilot project involving 10 small e-buses, with a capacity of 10-15 people for the road and other internal roads of the Walled City. A more detailed plan by the traffic and transport authorities is expected soon.
In April this year, Delhi govt had come up with a traffic management and road revamp plan involving different agencies. This involved the repair of the footpath on Netaji Subhash Marg, diversion of e-rickshaws and goods vehicles from the main road and relocation of vendors, who had illegally encroached the road.
