Delhi: Karol Bagh
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Civic issues
2017
Paras Singh, Karol Bagh voters yearn for toe space, April 18, 2017: The Times of India
Many would perhaps envy the three municipal wards of Karol Bagh assembly constituency for their commercial viability . They are after all home to popular commercial nerve centres like Ajmal Khan Road for general shopping, Ghaffar Market for electronics and Paharganj for its conglomerate of affordable hotels. The reality for residents is that all these contribute to the area's almost insurmountable problem: congestion.
For the voters in the three North Delhi Municipal Corporation wards of Paharganj, Karol Bagh and Dev Nagar, almost all issues that require attention are related to congestion arising from vehicular presence, illegal parking, encroachments and proliferation of street vendors. Residents admit there are problems with sanitation and stray dogs, but these appear tame in the context of congestion. “It is almost impossible even to drive our children to school,“ said Shobha at Multani Dhanda in Paharganj.
Motia Khan businessman Sadanand Vaish blames no one in particular for the mess. “Residents and shopkeepers indulge in encroachment, even as the local populace is increasingly turning homes into hotels and shops.These are choking the area to death.“ Vaish's woes are supplemented by the corporation's decade-long failure to complete the Rani Jhansi Road flyover and Shastri Park multilevel parking, both of which could have eased the vehicle load from the area.
“Yes, we agree that tenders for the Shastri Park multilevel parking project have been floated multiple times, but contractors refuse to participate because of the poor financial status of the north corporation,“ conceded Yogender Chandolia, former mayor and councillor from Dev Nagar. “Even the publicprivate participation mode didn't interest anyone.“
There is a large SC population in the area -Dev Nagar, for instance, has more than 44,000 SCs among its 64,000 residents -and Chandolia blames Delhi government for depriving many of the benefits of its many SC welfare schemes, especially women and widows. But there is no escaping that the corporation it self hasn't done much to deal with the pressing problems.Chandolia identified water and congestion as the wards' twin bugbears. “Water doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the corporation,“ he argued, “and a councillor alone cannot do anything about congestion.Pedestrianisation, like the one being experimented with in Connaught Place, cannot be replicated here because the localities are mixed market-residential areas.“
Kamlesh Rana recalled how Dev Nagar was a peaceful locality 40 years ago, but had now become unsuitable for residential life due to a preponderance of commercial buildings and heavy vehi cles. In Paharganj, Anita Devi shuddered, “The public toilets are all overflowing and the stink is unbearable.“ Unforgivable perhaps for a place that attracts lodgers and shoppers in hordes.
Madhu Khurana, Congress candidate from Paharganj and sitting member, deflected the blame to the BJP led civic body . “Nothing has been done in the last five years,“ she alleged. “The Rani Jhansi Road flyover was started 15 years ago when I was a member of MCD, but has not been finished even now.“ Her party , she claimed, would come up with a comprehensive plan to make free the wards of congestion.
Development
2019: pedestrianisation of 1.7km
Paras Singh & Somreet Bhattacharya, May 2, 2019: The Times of India
From: Paras Singh & Somreet Bhattacharya, May 2, 2019: The Times of India
Chandni Chowk-like promise to beat congestion takes shape at Karol Bagh
PILOT PROJECT: Shopping Hub Pedestrianised With A 1.7km Non-Motorised Zone
New Delhi:
Karol Bagh is among the capital’s top choices for shopping needs. But that is also the reason why this area is very congested. With thousands of shops, vehicles and lakhs of people jostling for space at the same time, shopping becomes a rough experience often. But now, that is set to change.
The north corporation on Tuesday began work to decongest Karol Bagh market area. For that, the central avenue of Ajmal Khan Road, starting from Pusa Road up to Arya Samaj Road, has been turned into a non-motorised vehicle zone with a green belt at the centre, dedicated NMV (nonmotorised vehicle) lanes, and pedestrian walkways on both sides. In other words, the area is being pedestrianised like the ongoing project to do the same at Chandni Chowk. However, it’s a pilot project for now. An official said that only pedestrian movement will be allowed on the central stretch with the provision of an NMV lane at the centre, which will have a six-lane opening at points near Tank Road intersection, Padam Singh Road intersection, Arya Samaj Road intersection and Hardhyan Singh Road.
PWD is expected to start upgrading six key streets by July 1. However, the corporation has already reserved spots for street furniture by placing large plant pots along with benches. A senior north corporation official said more street furniture would be installed. “In the first phase, the stretch from metro station to Arya Samaj Road is being covered while the arterial road from Arya Samaj Road to DB Gupta road will be covered in the second phase,” he said.
The civic body estimates that the first phase and trial would be over in 10 days.
The official also said that beautification and landscaping of the streets will be undertaken to turn the stretch into a pedestrian-friendly zone. “The UTTIPEC plan has dedicated provision of rickshaw lane in the centre and kerb-stone laid walkways lined with trees. The tree guards will have integrated sitting areas and provisions of shade for pedestrians using street furniture will also be made,” he added.
In a bid to regulate the vendors, designated vending spots will be fixed with the help of a town vending committee. Murali Mani who heads Ajmal Khan Road Vyapar Mandal said they will manage parking instead of private contractors as was done at Lajpat Nagar. “Our main concern was that the vendors and rehri-patri operators—the main cause of congestion—should be removed and north corporation has assured to relocate them,” Mani said.
Meanwhile, traffic police have converted the Saraswati and Gurdwara roads into one-way, no-parking stretches and have turned them into thoroughfares for rickshaws and e-rickshaws. Traffic DCP (central range) Rakesh Pawaria said the plan had been formulated in 2010 but couldn’t be implemented.
But market welfare associations said pedestrianisation of the area won’t work if parallel roads aren’t motorable. “Vehicles travelling on stretches like the Gurdwara Road that runs parallel to Ajmal Khan Road have to go all the way towards Pusa Road to take a U-turn. This also applies for emergency vehicles. The roads connecting the Saraswati Road and Gurdwara Road need to be decongested before implementing the circulatory plan,” said Sanjeev Kapur, general secretary of the vyapar mandal.
The municipal corporation has been asked to completely overhaul the parking management of the entire area. For this, four new parking lots will be made operational, adding to the current capacity of 1,955 slots.
“The lots will come up at Bhuli Bhatiyari Road behind Bhagga Link Road petrol pump (100 slots); north corporation land in Dev Nagar behind Liberty Cinema (100 slots); Bank Street (180 slots) and Ajmal Khan Park lawn number 3 (275 slots). “Additional 200 slots will be created at two more lots near Jhandewalan Mata Mandir and income tax department office in Jhandewalan Extension,” the senior corporation official said.
Shastri Park parking with the capacity of 300 vehicles has been handed over to traders. The traders’ association estimates that around 100 spots will be reserved for traders. Valet parking will be available at three locations on Padam Singh Road and Tank Road. Also, six e-rickshaws have been made available to ply at the market.
The plan says that all slots will be marked with parallel lines for obstruction-free movement, and all on-street parking will be divided into one side or two-side parking based on availability of space.
