BHOPAL: Traffic gridlock at the Shyamla Hills petrol-pump due to the Rani Kamlapati arch-bridge may lead to a major accident. Traffic from Polytechnic Square and from the side of Kamlapati Park converges on the approach road of the bridge. This causes frequent traffic snarls. The traffic department is now planning to either allow only one-way commuting on the bridge, or to develop a rotary around the approach road. Due to extra crowds flocking across the bridge, an extra police force remains deployed around the bridge to manage the surge of people ever since it was inaugurated by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan this week.
Visitors in droves
More than commuters, there are visitors in droves who are flocking around the bridge. To deal with the extra crowds, cops from the Talaiya police station remain deployed there. On Sunday, the police had to put up barricades on the bridge but that, too, led to a heavy traffic jam on it. This indicates a lack of planning before the bridge was inaugurated. On the one hand, the barricades around the approach road are removed by the commuters and they reach the approach road of the bridge crossing the Kamlapati road. This rush meets the traffic moving from the side of Kamlapati road and it leads to a heavy jam there.
The arch-bridge, on the other hand, remains congested and jammed due to police barricades and selfie-lovers. The bridge was built by Smart City, Bhopal, to ensure the commuters from the side of Professors’ Colony might reach the Ginnori area without having to travel to Retghat Square. But, more than beneficiaries, there are visitors who are milling around it. Now, the authorities are planning to turn it into a one-way road.
‘Wait and watch’
"We’ll monitor the situation for a few more days and, then, we’ll either propose a rotary on Shyamla Hills Square, or turn the bridge into a one-way road," said Sandeep Dikshit, additional superintendent of police, traffic.
