The Neglect Street
| Date :20-Nov-2020 |
Fed up with delay in construction, road-users have started using the incomplete semi-constructed cement road by breaching barricades in this portion of what is popularly called ‘London Street’. Whenever any vehicle uses the half-constructed portion, a dust storm follows. (Pic by Satish Raut )
By Kartik Lokhande :
The under-construction stretch of what is popularly called ‘London Street’ has created more problems due to delay in completion of the work
“Whenever I walk in a London street,
I’m ever so careful to watch my feet...”
These opening lines from the poem ‘Lines and Squares’ by eminent poet Alan Alexander Milne, best known as writer of popular teddy bear character ‘Winnie the Pooh’, sum up what is the situation as far as Nagpur city’s own ‘London Street’ is concerned. Everyone, either driving or riding or simply walking, along the under-construction cement road project, has to be ‘ever so careful’. Else, there is every possibility of inhaling dust or brushing the vehicles using the narrow incomplete stretch. Two-wheeler riders face the risk of their vehicle skidding because of loose gravel, potholes, eroded edges, or fallen barricades. The bhoomipujan of cement road connecting Wardha Road to Jaitala Bazar Chowk was performed ahead of the Lok Sabha elections held last year.
The work started soon. Of the two-way road, some part got constructed pretty quickly. However, then, something went wrong. The status of what would have been popularly known as ‘London Street’, degraded into a dusty, bumpy, incomplete, delayed project. The project entails different stretches of two-way cement road. One starts from Jaitala Bazar Chowk and ends near NIT’s Sahayog complex. From there another stretch begins and ends at Trimurti Nagar turning. Then starts the third stretch up to the turning towards Pannase Layout. The fourth stretch starts from there and is perceived to end at a point from where one can take a turn towards Gajanan Maharaj Mandir (Sahakar Nagar). The connecting patches between these stretches appear to have been left out of planning process.
They are characterised by loose gravel. The authorities concerned do not appear to be bothered about levelling part till cementing is done. Also, the first three stretches have only one side of the cement road constructed and operative. As a result, the operative side is being used for two-way traffic. The fourth of the stretches mentioned above is the one where road-users are forced to face inconvenience. For in this stretch, cement road construction is ‘going on’ on one side and the other side is old, bumpy tar road. The narrow tar road portion is in use for two-way traffic. For long, the people did not use the other ‘under-construction’ side where primary layer of cement is visible. However, since it rained last time, due to folding of muddy shoulder, potholes, and eroded edges, people faced massive inconvenience.
There were minor mishaps too. On many occasions, as the residents of the nearby areas tell, scuffles broke out. Also, there were occasions, when vehicles of elderly skidded and people rushed to help them. Still, when the construction of cement road on the other side continued getting delayed for whatever reasons, unknown people fell the barricades and started using the half-constructed portion. The authorities concerned may say that the construction activities had come to a standstill during COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year. But, more stretches were dug up at the end of the stringent lockdown. Since the process of unlocking began, several months have passed by but the progress of the work has been tardy at best.
The stretch from Gajanan Maharaj Mandir turning to Shastri Nagar bridge is still a tar road and open for two-way traffic. But, from Shastri Nagar bridge to Khamla-Sonegaon junction again, one part is dug up and another narrow portion offers a horrible ‘off-roading’ experience to road users. The next portion also was dug up recently and closed for traffic. Even at the intersection of ‘London Street’ and Khamla-Sonegaon cement roads, the situation is chaotic. There is an old cement speed-breaker, where often people face the risk of losing balance if they are on two-wheeler. Four-wheeler drivers unaware of this speed-breaker often curse their luck for taking this road. Even as ‘London Street’ is being constructed for more than one-and-a-half years now, the authorities concerned have not bothered to at least ensure proper illumination at night. There are several ‘dark spots’ where one has to drive/ride through narrow lane being in use as two-way road. The lights of vehicles coming from opposite direction, potholes, eroded edges, loose gravel, and often horns blown by some anxious vehicle drivers/riders... make this particular experience nothing short of horrible, to say the least. Since none of the people in high offices have to use this road at such an hour riding a two-wheeler, they appear to be unconcerned. Probably, they are thinking that people will adjust to new reality, ‘as usual’. Now, it is up to the people, the sufferers, to mount pressure on the authorities concerned for faster completion of the entire ‘London Street’ cement road. Will they? It is for the people to answer, and the authorities to respond to.