Metro works & waterlogging put Old City in unending jams
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Traffic cops maintained that waterlogging at Alpana Trisection and the closure/diversion of the road from Bharat Talkies towards Pul Bogda due to ongoing Metro work were the main reasons for the traffic congestion. Due to the diversion, the volume of traffic on the road from Sangam Trisection towards Bajaria increased, adding to the traffic woes.
A commuter, Rizwan, told TOI that there was a heavy traffic jam from Bharat Talkies Square to Hamidia Road between 4 pm and 6 pm.
He remained stuck in the jam for more than an hour. Long queues of vehicles were seen on the road from Bharat Talkies to Alpana Trisection and further on Hamidia Road. People trying to go to the railway station were stuck in the jam. Cars, auto-rickshaws, loading vehicles, low-floor buses, and two-wheelers were all stuck in the jam.
Being a major commercial area of the city, the traffic volume on these roads remains high.
Apart from that, being the peak traffic hours, the situation further aggravated.
Another commuter, Vishal, told TOI that he was stuck in the jam for more than an hour in his car. The vehicles moved at a snail's pace due to the congestion. In the absence of a proper road divider, vehicles, especially two-wheeler riders, stuck their vehicles in any available free space, worsening the situation.
A senior traffic cop told TOI that traffic cops remain deployed in the area at Bharat Talkies Square, Alpana Trisection, and other major points to manage and regulate traffic flow.
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However, the volume of traffic remains so high in the area that even if a single vehicle driver makes a wrong move, the vehicles driving behind immediately get stuck in the jam.
Additional DCP (Traffic) Basant Kaul said that waterlogging and diversion due to the ongoing Metro Project caused traffic congestion in the area. Traffic police raised the issue of waterlogging in the high-level meeting chaired by Bhopal MP Alok Sharma at the Old Police Control Room recently. The issue is being addressed, and a permanent solution for the waterlogging problem is being taken by the agencies concerned.
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