RailEnquiry

NAGPUR: As an initial step in easing traffic congestion at Manish Nagar railway crossing, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) recently installed dividers on roads leading up to the level crossing from both sides. Though these dividers have regulated traffic at the crossing to a great extent, there are some new issues bothering commuters.The road from Narendra Nagar to Manish Nagar, running parallel to the railway line, is now blocked at the crossing due to the new divider. This forces motorists coming from Manish Nagar to use the wrong side of the road to continue straight towards Narendra Nagar.Another issue is that the divider ends abruptly on the Manish Nagar side, and traffic is stalled while people attempt to take a U-turn. Also, commuters joining the crowd from Narendra Nagar add to the chaos."Many times, when the level crossing is closed we prefer to take the road going straight towards Narendra Nagar, to save time. However, with the dividers in place, we have to either wait for the gates to open and traffic to clear or go down the wrong side of the road, which can lead to accidents," said Kunal Damedhar, a resident of Manish Nagar.He also said that since the dividers were installed the bus service from Narendra Nagar to Manish Nagar has been stalled. The possible reason being that buses cannot take a U-turn at the divider or go down the wrong side. "This has caused us some trouble, as we now have to go to Wardha Road to catch a bus," Damedhar said.Another reason for the chaos continuing at the crossing is public apathy. As the length of the divider is less, people still cut lanes and block traffic from the other direction. "People also take a right turn before the divider begins, when coming from Somalwada square," informed Damedhar."People need to change their mentality and inculcate some civic sense while using the roads. One cannot have everything. We have tried to find a solution to the problem, now people have to make some adjustments," said Nasir Khan, traffic engineer, NMC.In spite of the above problems, the dividers have eased traffic congestion considerably. "Earlier, people used to block both lanes on both sides of the level crossing while waiting for it to open. Now, the number of such people has come down comparatively," said Ravi Bonade, an autorickshaw driver. He also said that the traffic clears faster than it used to once the gate opens.The residents claim that the problem will be completely solved only when the proposed flyover over the level crossing comes up. Officials say that the project, which is expected to cost around Rs40 crore, is still in the conceptual stage.