Month: March 2013

The post Diverting Traffic appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

It is becoming increasingly rare for a day to go by without the news of a fatal accident or more such cases coming in. Not surprising, given the sheer number of vehicles and traffic volume on the shrinking road space. The directive to two wheeler borne people to wear helmets to keep their heads safe has not worked for even with helmets strapped on, people have been crushed to death in the rush to inch ahead in severely cramped roads and by-lanes. Often, the toll that road accidents have taken in the main roads in Imphal are not because of overt high speeding since the roads are too narrow for vehicles to spread out. In Imphal alone, the volume of traffic on the roads are made worse by the endless array of auto rickshaws on one hand and security convoys on the other that insist on getting first preference on the roads. Accidents from vehicles overtaking one another happen mostly on long road stretches outside of the main Imphal area but within the main Imphal area and in residential areas, the most accident-prone areas are at intersection points where small lanes and roads meet the main roads.

While the lack of traffic rules and signals amongst pedestrians and vehicle do contribute to the growing casualty of accidents everyday, the greater worry is the sheer congestion of traffic on the roads and the lack of appropriate and adequate road signals. This, coupled with the cover of darkness on the roads because of the acute load shedding in the state and the absence of street lighting once evening sets in, gives in to a dangerous spectacle and the possibility of more road accidents waiting to happen. Daily, the school timings of young children being ferried in over-packed school vans are a worrying sight given that van drivers are in a constant rush to ensure that children get on time to their schools. Most often, schools vans are not only over loaded in terms of the number of children that they hold but also weighed down by school bags piled on top. It would bode well for the concerned department and for schools to ensure that vehicles carrying school going children are not jam packed with children before any tragedy strikes.

Considering that the number of vehicles on the roads and streets of Imphal are only going to increase as a fall out of vehicles becoming symbols of upward social mobility and aided very much by financial schemes that ensures easy loans, the only other option is to find ways of managing traffic flow on the streets which is easier said than done. The long lasting way out would be to start planning strategically over constructing outer ring roads and fly over’s but this would have to be done systematically and with an intent to complete the task with efficiency, quality control in a set time. Manipur’s public often do not have much trust in infrastructure development going by past records of long drawn out projects leading to public discomfort and shoddy quality work. Any suggestion of a fly over in the state is received with derision following the much touted ‘fly over’ in Imphal, which after completion was found to be only an over bridge and one that ended up being constructed in a direction that does nothing to take off traffic volume. Another practical solution is to regulate the number of auto rickshaws plying on the streets of Imphal and to take up a systematic approach towards planning their routes. Currently, the growing number of auto rickshaws on the streets of Imphal even as they substitute for the lack of a proper public system of transport in the state also end up congesting the streets.

In matters of the concerned department cracking down on underage drivers and proper documents being in place, no amount of half hearted approach is going to make a difference to the attitude of people who do end up getting ‘caught’. There would have to be more stringent processes for vehicle registration and in handing out traffic licenses on a sustained basis. It should be noted that when a town bursts starts to burst at its seams, it is just the beginning of the great urban nightmare. Traffic will start choking up the streets and the rest of the ugliness will follow. More reason then, to start planning ahead.

The post Diverting Traffic appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

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