Entry of heavy vehicles barred in Kaushambi township, state buses exempted

In connection with the comprehensive traffic management plan, officials of the state transport utility have placed a request for 200 CNG buses with the headquarters

Now, heavy vehicles will not be allowed to ply in Kaushambi, barring the buses of the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), as part of the comprehensive traffic management plan that has been chalked out for the township, keeping in line with the Supreme Court directives. In connection with the traffic plan, officials of the state transport utility have placed a request for 200 CNG buses with the headquarters.

Height barriers have been put up at two locations on the Link Road stretching from Dabur crossing to Maharajpur border (Kaushambi-Anand Vihar) to prevent the entry of heavy vehicles. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Kaushambi Apartment Residents’ Welfare Association (Karwa)--the apex body of Kaushambi RWAs--filed several petitions before the National Green Tribunal since 2015 and finally moved the Supreme Court in October 2020 for the resolution of several pollution-related issues affecting the township.

The high rises in Kaushambi shelter about 20,000 residents. The township is just adjacent to Delhi’s Anand Vihar border. The ISBTs of Anand Vihar and Kaushambi are just opposite to the township; the Sahibabad Site IV Industrial area is also in the vicinity.

The apex court, in its order on March 24, directed officials of both Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to take up a “unified approach” to solve pollution related issues.

“Height barriers have been put up at two locations, which now bar entry of heavy vehicles on the Link Road leading from Dabur crossing to Maharajpur border (Kaushambi-Anand Vihar). We are also broadening one of our ISBT entry/exit gates, which hinders the traffic coming from Delhi. All this will help ease the traffic condition in the area,” said A K Singh, regional manager of UPSRTC.

One of the height barriers has been put up at Dabur crossing while the other has been put up at the Saur Urja Marg behind the ISBT Kaushambi.

“With the height barriers in place, no heavy vehicle will be able to ply from Dabur crossing. There are height barriers near the EDM Mall (another Ghaziabad-Delhi border area) and also near the ISBT Kaushambi, where vehicles from Delhi enter Ghaziabad. These height barriers will ensure Kaushambi remains out of bounds for heavy vehicles,” said V K Mittal, president of Karwa.

“If heavy vehicles have to enter Ghaziabad, they can enter from UP Gate or Apsara Border (near Seemapuri). The different agencies are taking measures for construction of U-turns and even multi-level parking, which will help resolve pollution-related issues further,” said Mittal.

With the height barriers in place, the state buses coming to Kaushambi are using the Saur Urja Marg for entering the ISBT Kaushambi from the rear gate. The Saur Urja Marg runs through the Sahibabad Site IV Industrial Area, but several residential localities-- Kadkad Model, Jhandapur and Maharajpur--are situated adjacent to the road.

“The traffic plan for Kaushambi has paved the way for movement of buses through our localities, posing a risk to residents. We will move the court with regard to this matter,” said Sushil Raghav, an environmentalist and a resident of Kadkad Model.

The traffic management plan for Kaushambi details different measures, which are expected to free the township of pollution-related issues. One of the points highlighted in the plan is operation of CNG buses instead of diesel buses.

Currently, the UPSRTC operates about 550 buses to different destinations from ISBT Kaushambi and another 50 buses from ISBT Anand Vihar across the border.

“Of these 600 odd buses, we have about 125 buses which run on CNG. Since it is not advisable to convert diesel buses to CNG, we have placed a demand with our headquarters for 200 new CNG buses. Since it is a policy decision, it requires intervention from the state government,” said Singh.

Officials familiar with the development said that funding would be a major issue in procuring the new CNG buses.