Commuters daily try luck while crossing century-old Ajni bridge
| Date :24-Mar-2022 |
Staff Reporter
If one thinks commuting on city roads is bearable, then one has never commuted on the over a century old Ajni bridge. One must just pay a courtesy visit to the bridge and be a spectator to the unfolding events. Come from any direction, be it from Eastern end or the Western side, one will just get lost in the traffic that swells during office hours. Most of the time, even during night hours, chaos rules the roost on the Ajni bridge.
Such is the situation that one has a new experience daily while commuting on the shaky bridge. The ride on the bridge sends shivers down the spine and one emerges victorious after crossing the bridge safely.
The bridge is due for demolition and reconstruction since many years. As a precautionary measure, authorities concerned have put up vertical barricades to block entry of heavy vehicles on the bridge. But the half-hearted method adopted has resulted into slow movement of traffic due to which the static load on the weak bridge increases for a longer duration. It troubles the commuters daily as the traffic moves on at snail’s pace.
The bridge helps commuters from South, East and Central Nagpur reach West Nagpur. This is the only major facility for citizens of East, Central and South Nagpur areas to get connected with West Nagpur. This bridge has already surpassed its lifespan.
The iron bars installed on both sides of the bridge surely prevent entry to heavy vehicles, but commuters get stuck in the traffic at West end.
The chaos is mostly due to faulty planning, while carving out a road up to newly formed Kriplani Square. The authorities concerned failed to take traffic on Ajni square into consideration while planning for a new road and junction near Ajni Railway Station.
Had the Nagpur Municipal Corporation coordinated with Traffic Police and other agencies concerned, there could have been ease on the traffic front near the railway station.
The vehicles come from Mamu Tea Stall and reach the bridge easily because there is only one entry to the bridge. The real problem lies at the other end -- towards Ajni railway station.
At the other end, vehicles barge on those coming from the opposite direction and get released, with the drivers heaving a sigh of relief. These vehicles then run towards the three directions respectively in a haphazard manner. Vehicles from other end come from Jail road, from Ajni railway station and from FCI Godown. They reach the bridge as per their whims and fancies.
At the Ajni railway station end, the bridge has ideally two turns--one goes towards FCI godown, one goes straight towards Jail road and third one goes towards Shivaji Science College or Ajni station. For going towards FCI godown, the vehicles have a separate path, but to go towards Jail road and Shivaji Science College, the commuters are expected to use middle path. The middle path is divided into two to allow the vehicles coming from FCI Godown to reach the bridge. Here, the problem starts. Vehicles coming from Mamu Tea Stall occupy both sides of the middle path, compelling the vehicles coming from FCI Godown to take the path meant for vehicles coming from Ajni station and Jail road. These vehicles cross each other at the junction and vehicular movement coming to standstill. The confusion gets created as to from which way to move forward. Due to the chaos at the junction, the speed of the vehicles on the bridge slows down. Two-wheelers then try to find their ways adding to the woes of others. These two-wheelers and even four-wheelers since break their lanes the traffic on bridge converted into total mess. Some vehicles, after seeing the traffic jam ahead, try to turn back, creating hurdles in the vehicular movement. The Traffic Department has deployed policemen, but they find themselves helpless because of the bizarre structure of the junction and public mentality.
Unfortunately, being in the centre of the city, users find the bridge more convenient to move to their workplaces. According to some people, authorities must find some solution to the issue. Earlier, the bridge used to witness heavy traffic at particular time slots. Nowadays, at anytime from 8 am to 9 pm, the bridge is occupied by the vehicles.
There is a plan according to which Ajni bridge would be converted into 4-lanes wide bridge. The work would begin soon, but nobody has planned anything about its present status? What would happen to the commuters? From where would they go to their workplaces? If the traffic is diverted, will it not add to the vehicular movement taking place on the other road? For how long people would have to suffer? Nobody has the answers to these questions.