Benz Circle turns a major bottleneck for Vijayawada
VIJAYAWADA: As the plans for the expansion of the existing roads and the construction of new ones are going awry, the people living in Vijayawada city, the third largest city in Andhra Pradesh, are going to witness severe traffic snarls up in the days ahead.
Lack of political will coupled with the poor coordination between the Vijayawada municipal corporation (VMC), Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali and Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (VGTM-UDA), Roads and Buildings department, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Railways have become a bane for the people of the city that was said to be under consideration for the capital of the residuary Andhra Pradesh in the event of bifurcation.
Though passing of the national highways might have helped the city to grow bigger, they are now engendering the lives of the people. As many as 313 persons lost their lives under the Vijayawada Police Commissionerate limits and another 1,070 persons injured in the road mishaps in 2013. Many of these accidents occurred on the national highways, according to city police.
It may be noted that nearly 60,000 vehicles cross through the city every day at the Benz Circle, the meeting point of two national highways (NH-16 (earlier NH-5) and NH 9).
The Benz Circle and the ghat road of Indrakeeladri road are the major bottlenecks in the city. The ghat road which falls under NH 9 has become a curse for the people, especially for the people of One Town area. It takes at least an hour to reach Pandit Nehru Bus Station from Kummaripalem centre, a mere stretch of 2 km, during the peak hours of traffic.
Though the population and the number of the vehicles in the city are less, the floating population is very high. According to the 2011 Census the population under the VMC limits is 10,48,240 and nearly eight lakh vehicles were registered in Krishna district.
Though the demand for the construction of a flyover from Kummaripalem centre to Canal road, either the NHAI or the state R&B is not ready to take up the project.
News Posted: 6 January, 2014
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