E-Paper
Traffic to resume on Delhi-Meerut Expressway only after NHAI inspections
Farmers weren’t the only ones feeling happy and relieved on Thursday to hear the Samyukta Kisan Morcha announce that the yearlong agitation against the farm laws has been called off and protest sites will be vacated, the latest by December 12
Farmers weren’t the only ones feeling happy and relieved on Thursday to hear the Samyukta Kisan Morcha announce that the yearlong agitation against the farm laws has been called off and protest sites will be vacated, the latest by December 12. Commuters too were a much relieved lot as finally, a year of harrowing snarls and long winding diversions was drawing to a close.
But the officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said opening of National Highway 9 (NH-9) and the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) lanes will take more time and a round of inspections to assess damage, if any, to the highway, of which the expressway is a part. Only when all infrastructure facilities are found to be intact will be road be opened to commuters, they said.
The Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of the highway/expressway has been shut since December 3 last year when farmers erected the dais at the site, hampering the movement of thousands of vehicles. The protest also resulted in closure of Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of the Hindon elevated road which ends at UP-Gate.
“The safety of commuters is our prime concern. We will conduct inspections and assess any issues/damage to the DME. Once all issues are resolved and rectified, we will open the highway/expressway to commuters. This may take a week or more,depending on the condition of roads/infrastructure,” said Arvind Kumar, project director, NHAI.
“Once the site is vacated by farmers, our teams will assess the entire stretch from UP-Gate to Indirapuram,” he added.
During their over yearlong occupation, protesting farmers have been using the electricity taken directly from overhead lines to power gadgets such as televisions and washing machines and for charging mobile phones and laptops. They also erected hundreds of tents after drilling through the bitumen layer.
Cracks were also visible on the road surface after the Delhi Police, on October 30, removed their heavy barricading and iron spikes put in place to deter farmers from taking a tractor march to Delhi, after a similar rally on Republic Day ended in violence and the death of a farmer and injuries to hundreds of policemen.
Earlier in September, the NHAI raised concerns about the maintenance issues related to DME as a result of the ongoing farmers’ protest. They also shot a letter to the Ghaziabad administration for resolution of issues resulting out of farmers’ protest and also due to non-maintenance of DME.
“Due to farmers’ protest for over a year, traffic was diverted through sector 2, Noida, to Anand Vihar border near Kaushambi and also through the Hindon Canal Road. No vehicle was allowed from Pratap Vihar to UP-Gate. Opening UP-Gate will provide relief to thousands of commuters. About 300 of our personnel were deployed there on a daily basis, besides additional deployment during initial days,” said Gyanendra Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city 2).
Residents said for over a year, commuters faced a lot of hardship in commuting to their offices and making other trips.
“Normally, there are about 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles passing through Kaushambi. As a result of the diversion, the traffic volume through Kaushambi spiked to about 70,000 vehicles per day. It is a great relief that UP-Gate will now be vacated,” said VK Mittal, president of Kaushambi Apartments RWA.
