Temporary solutions, permanent pain

H. Kishie Singh

“There has been no application of the mind!” This is a phrase that the Hon’ble High Court used to address the powers-that-be.

This is abundantly clear with the handling of The Tribune flyover in Chandigarh. No sensible, not even a remotely practical solution has come forward. Yet, The Tribune flyover has become a battle cry.

What is this flyover expected to do? Will it ease traffic? No. On the contrary, it will compound the problem. Why?

For example: Supposing before the flyover there were a thousand cars passing the Tribune roundabout in an hour. The flyover could handle 1,500 cars per hour. Some will go South or North along Purv Marg. The rest will head down Dakshin Marg, resulting in a jam at the next roundabout on Chandi Path, then Sukhna Path and so on all along Dakshin Marg. Along the way, more vehicles will join the flow of traffic. As the traffic increases, each roundabout will face The Tribune roundabout-like problems that exist today. More flyovers?

In business management, this is referred to as ‘bulb snatching’, meaning an area of darkness will always exist. You have not solved a problem, you have simply transferred it!

This problem dates back years. No one noticed it; if they did, no one paid attention.

How was a National Highway allowed to pass through the heart of City Beautiful? Everyone in the administration was fast asleep with eyes wide open!

Now that the damage is beyond repair, everyone is flapping. Flyover, underpass. Nothing will work. Why? Because the whole concept is flawed!

Why should tourists on a holiday from Delhi to Manali have to drive through the heart of Chandigarh, crawling along Dakshin Marg?

They have travelled about four hours from Delhi to Zirakpur, then crawled along the car-infested Dakshin Marg to Kharar. This stretch is about 30 km and can take up to 3 hours to cross! That averages 10 kmph, on a National Highway. There is one solution and one only: Bypass Chandigarh.

From Dera Bassi, there should be a road to Banur and on to Kurali to meet the National Highway.

Better still, from Ambala keep on NH 44 to Shambu on the Haryana-Punjab border. From here, there is a connecting road to Banur.

This is the way it is done in Europe and North America. The intercity roads take you close to the larger cities, not into the city. That is really a stupid move!

We must face the hard truth. There is no possibility of improving traffic on Dakshin Marg. It was meant to be a city street not a National Highway. Don’t try and get a Maruti 800 to do the job of a bus! It can never ever accommodate the anticipated volume of traffic.

The strongest point in favour of no flyover: It would be a temporary solution, good for just 10 years. A bypass would be a permanent solution.

I write from experience, having driven about 50,000 km in Europe during my posting in Geneva. Europe is criss-crossed by super highways. They avoid the big cities. We are doing the opposite, ignoring all rules of traffic management and road building.

Traffic management is a science, as is road building. We need qualified professionals. Use Metro Man Sridharan’s formula. Only technocrats should be on the working committee. No bureaucrats, and in Chandigarh’s case, certainly no catering to the whims and fancies of politicians.

Happy Motoring!