If the trucks don’t get you, the barrier will
| Date :16-Nov-2020 |
By Rahul Dixit :
Gowari flyover continues to be a danger zone
DEATH keeps lurking in various forms of heavy vehicles on the Shaheed Gowari flyover, connecting Rahate Colony square and Morris College T-point, despite alarms raised by concerned people. A half-hearted attempt by the authorities saw a height barrier being erected on one side of the flyover but it crashed within hours of installation, perhaps becoming victim of a truck habitual of using the flyover.
The crashed barrier (in picture) symbolises the value of life of the road users, some of whom were plain lucky to survive the fall. The fallen iron pole lay on the road for hours together, blocking traffic on the flyover at one end. One wondered whether it was part of some ‘unique plan’ hatched by some fertile brain to deny entry to heavy vehicles. Meanwhile, heavily loaded trucks continued to ferry on the other side of the flyover without any hindrance. There was no traffic policeman to regulate their movement and the small vehicles kept clutching on the little space available to drive. It has been a regular scene for long. Affected people have been running from one authority to other for a lasting solution but the problem seems to have been caught in passing-the-buck mode.
Assurances have come thick and fast from the police as well as civic administration but a definite step came only in the way of a height barrier on only one side. It was a shabby and shoddy job as the pole had no warning sign nor any glowsign to mark its presence. The worst fears of road-users came true when a heavy vehicle barged into it due to its poor visibility and brought it down, creating another danger. Engineers had designed the structure for light motor vehicles only. Public Works Department (PWD) has set a limit of load of upto 30 tonnes for a heavy vehicle on the flyover.
However, heavy vehicles exceeding 50 tonnes are regularly plying on the bridge thus causing untold damage to the structure. The night hours see trucks snaking through the area, cramping the other vehicles for space. In a bid to overtake, cars and two-wheelers regularly indulge in lane-jumping as there are no dividers. All these factors have made the flyover a death zone, especially in the night hours. ‘The Hitavada’ has been highlighting the issue since the height barriers inexplicably disappeared from the flyover. A delegation of citizens had also called on Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar demanding action against trucks plying on the bridge. One hopes some action on part of the authorities before it is too late.