Traffic diversion multiplies woes of One Town residents

Vijayawada: Traffic problems at One Town area multiplied with the closure of Durga temple highway road and diversion of traffic via K Market, Chitti Nagar and Sitara Centre for the vehicles passing towards Gollapudi, Ibrahimpatnam and Hyderabad.

With the strict instructions given by Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for speedy construction of the Durga temple flyover, the officials closed the Durga temple road since Monday from temple to Kummaripalem.

Consequently, vehicles travelling from Vijayawada towards Ibrahimpatnam and Gollapudi are passing via K Market, Chitti Nagar tunnel, Sitara Junction. Thousands of vehicles are depending on BRP Road, KT Road and Chitti Nagar tunnel roads for travelling towards Gollapudi. Vehicles are getting stranded at Low bridge, K Market and Chitti Nagar Junctions due to increased traffic and number of vehicles.

K T Road, which is very narrow from KBN College to Chitti Nagar Junction is not able to cope up with the increasing vehicles particularly heavy vehicles like RTC buses. Proposal for widening of the road has been pending for a long time due to stiff resistance from the local residents.

It will take 10 to 15 minutes to reach from K Market to Sitara Junction. Now, it is taking 40 minutes to 60 minutes to cross the tunnel road due to increasing vehicular traffic since Monday. The traffic problems will continue five more months till the completion of Durga temple flyover bridge works. Thousands of school children studying in nearly 30 schools in the stretch from K Market to Chitti Nagar are panicked with increasing vehicles.

One Town is very densely populated area with more than two lakh residents living from Mallikarjuna Peta to Chitti Nagar and Tarapeta to Foreman Bungalow. Heavy vehicles are passing through the narrow roads in the Old City are creating panicky situation. Elderly people and women are facing problems with sudden spurt of vehicular traffic.

Similarly, commuters travelling from Gollapudi to K Market, Panja Centre are travelling by passing via Kabela Junction, Milk Project, Chitti Nagar. This is a very lengthy route and time consuming.

Traffic on Errakatta also increased enormously since Monday due to closure of Durga temple road. A large number of two-wheeler and four wheelers are using Erra Katta Road since two days as an alternative road.

Meanwhile, the city police are requesting the people to cooperate with the police authorities and district administration to complete the flyover works.

By MD AMEEN