New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Pinning the blame on the AAP for the Barapullah Phase-III traffic mess, Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Wednesday said the project was planned and designed by the previous government in the national capital and that a solution is in works to correct the faults.
Since its opening last month, the stretch has seen crawling traffic because of several design shortcomings.
The Delhi Traffic Police has also written to the Public Works Department (PWD) highlighting the issues.
Hitting back at the BJP government, the AAP said instead of blaming the previous regime, it must throw light on why an amount of Rs 1,635 crore of public money was sanctioned for the project, without conducting any technical assessment.
“The BJP government itself admits that Barapulla Phase-III has serious issues of planning, design and traffic integration. It must answer why it sanctioned Rs 1,635 crore without a proper technical assessment. The CBI must investigate the matter,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said in a statement.
Verma said, “We recently held a meeting and the discussions were on short-term and long-term solutions that have been suggested by the traffic police, we will work on that.”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the traffic jam on Barapullah indicates that the previous government in Delhi, led by former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, lacked foresight.
A PWD official told PTI on Tuesday that there are issues at the point merging with the old Barapullah stretch over the Sarai Kale Khan junction on Ring Road, contributing to the persistent congestion. However, that is not the only factor.
“There is some misinformation on Google Maps. Apparently, it is not updating real-time traffic information for commuters to properly navigate, causing more congestion on the stretch,” the official said.
The three-lane Barapullah Phase-III flyover merges with a two-lane stretch of the existing corridor near Sundial Park, while traffic from two other three-lane approaches also converges at the same point.
According to the plan revealed by Verma, the PWD will take up a road-widening project of the Ring Road stretch between ITO and the Sarai Kale Khan junction by replacing a footpath with a fresh road lane.
“PWD is working with the Delhi Traffic Police on immediate measures, including better utilisation of available road space, improved lane channelisation and smoother movement between Sarai Kale Khan and ITO,” the minister said in a statement.
Another proposal for traffic management is the construction of a U-turn in front of the Gurdwara Shree Bala Sahab to provide the residents living near the flyover access to the Old Barapullah approach road.
“This will allow residents of Siddharth Extension to directly take Old Barapullah towards Lajpat Nagar, INA and AIIMS, without unnecessary diversion or wrong-side movement,” Verma added.
The PWD is also in touch with Google Maps for real-time traffic congestion information on the Barapullah Phase-III stretch, he said.
“Google Maps algorithm takes around 15 days to update the traffic situation of a road, so that will happen soon; we are in touch with them. Delhi Traffic Police has also issued an advisory regarding congestion on the corridor,” Verma said.
The minister said his department seeks to undo the faults “as soon as possible”, with all administrative issues already resolved in the last one year.
“All tender specifications, technical feasibility were done by the AAP government. How can this be our design fault?” he asked.
Constructed at Rs 1,635 crore, the new flyover connects Mayur Vihar Phase-1 on Noida Link Road to Sarai Kale Khan on Ring Road, merging with the existing Barapullah network to form a continuous 10-kilometre signal-free stretch till the AIIMS roundabout.
Verma also said some videos have surfaced showing people tearing apart a freshly-built road.
He said newly-constructed roads take time to settle and added that the PWD has the power to file FIRs in such cases. PTI SSM RC
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.