[Reader-list] Parliament Street

[Sopan Joshi]

further to Anand Vivek Taneja's posting "Parliament
Street...", here's a news story from TOI Delhi. it
deals with power structures and a different kind of
detention area: delhi roads.


from:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_Id=2992861


Proposal to close portion of Talkatora Road 

SNIGDHA SEN
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [WEDNESDAY, MARCH 06, 2002]

NEW DELHI: Despite opposition from traffic experts and
managers, a proposal to close a portion of the
Talkatora Road between the Red Cross Road roundabout
and the Gurudwara Rakabganj Road-Talkatora Road rotary
may finally take shape.

According to traffic experts, the move is likely to
create a huge traffic snarl in the area, posing an
unwelcome challenge to commuters and the traffic
police.

Sources in the urban development ministry said the
decade-old plan — that has been shelved and raked up
on and off — to make the Lok Sabha complex ‘‘one of
the biggest in Asia’’ was awaiting completion of the
new Parliament library. ‘‘The construction is almost
complete.

Development work including greening of the area and
connecting the three main buildings — the Parliament,
the Annexure and library will begin thereafter. Work
is expected to be over by this year-end. Once it is
complete, the road will be closed,’’ a ministry source
said. This idea to create a unified Parliament complex
will give rise to huge traffic problems in the area,
experts say. But the issue being ‘‘sensitive’’ and
orders coming ‘‘right from the top’’, all the agencies
involved — including the New Delhi Municipal Council,
the traffic police and traffic consultancy agency,
CRAPHTS Consultants — refuse to go on record about the
closure.

According to NDMC spokesperson Madan Thapliyal, the
proposal had been put up to the Lieutenant Governor
for consideration. ‘‘The plan is yet to be
finalised,’’ he said.

However, traffic managers are apprehensive of the
ramifications of the closure. ‘‘This road is one of
the busiest and crucial links between West Delhi, New
Delhi and East Delhi areas. The ripple effect will be
felt right up to the RML roundabout and Park Street,’’
said a police source. 

He said the alternative being suggested is to divert
the traffic on to Parliament Street, get it to move
along the Annexure building, turn left on to Imtiaz
Khan Road, again turn left to the Rakabganj Road
rotary and then towards Pandit Pant Marg. There is
also a plan to widen Imtiaz Khan Road — between
Gurudwara Rakabganj Road and Parliament Street — to a
six-lane one. ‘‘But that would be of little help as
the Irwin statue rotary does not have enough
manoeuvring space to handle this load,’’ he said. 

Agreeing that the closure would mean a lot of
structural changes in the road networks in the area, a
traffic expert said: ‘‘That stretch carries a load of
about 3,000 passenger car units per hour during peak
hours. The Parliament Street already has a load of
2,400 pcu per hour. Widening Imtiaz Khan Road will not
solve the problem because Parliament Street will
anyway have to bear the excess load.’’

A flyover will be a tough job as many buildings in the
area will be affected. ‘‘Adding to that is the Metro
Rail construction close by. Now, even if we go for
restructuring the entire area, it would mean traffic
disruptions for almost two to two and a half years,’’
the expert said.

The government’s stand, however, is predictably the
same: security and integration. ‘‘Once the complex is
a complete whole, people can move from Parliament,
Annexure and library without security threat. Also,
every time there is a VVIP movement between the three
buildings, traffic on the road is stopped. That
inconvenience will be done away with,’’ a ministry
source said.



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