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CM Shinde instructs NHAI to demolish old Chandni chowk bridge
Taking serious cognisance of the traffic issue, chief minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday visited Chandni chowk to review the situation and has instructed officials to demolish the old bridge
Taking serious cognisance of the traffic issue, chief minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday visited Chandni chowk to review the situation and has instructed officials to demolish the old bridge. As per CMs instruction, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will demolish the old bridge at Chandni chowk between September 12 and 15. Also, 100 traffic wardens will be deployed at the spot to regulate the heavy vehicle traffic movement, said officials.
The CM’s convoy had got stuck ahead of Chandani Chowk on Friday evening while he was on his way to Satara from Mumbai after a truck and car broke down and blocked the arterial stretch, which is part of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway. Several people who saw the CM had come and apprised him of the congestion at the spot, mainly due to ongoing road work.
On Sunday, the CM along with Pune district collector, police department and NHAI officials took a review of the spot.
“On Friday, some commuters appraised me of the traffic issue at Chandni chowk. Accordingly, a meeting was held with all the authorities, wherein all issues were discussed and decision to demolish the old bridge was taken. We have given strict instructions to all the government authorities to not fight over the jurisdiction and give relief to commuters by demolishing the bridge,” said Shinde.
“We also discussed some legal issues pertaining to the area and I assure you all the traffic congestion issues will be resolved ad we will work together and take combined decisions along with district authorities, traffic police and NHAI,” added Shinde.
“From Monday, 100 traffic wardens will be deployed till the bridge is demolished, in order to regulate traffic during peak hours. The bridge will be demolished in the next 15 days and lanes will be increased. The service road on one side will be connected to the other side of the highway. The bridge will be demolished by blasting method and work will be carried out promptly,” said Shinde,
The civic body will take help of experts to plan the blasting for demolishing the bridge. They will conduct a spot visit for the same on Tuesday.
Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh who visited the spot with CM Shinde on Sunday said that efforts are on to come up with various measures to remove bottlenecks. “Officials from various departments have visited the spot and some crucial decisions have been taken. The main problem occurs when traffic from Mumbai and Kothrud reach Chandni chowk, the nine-lane road is reduced to three lanes, resulting in hour-long traffic jams.”
The NHAI has appealed to various agencies including electric and tele communication agencies to get rid of all supply lines by September 10, so that the demolition can take place between September 12 and 15.
After taking a brief halt at Chandni chowk, CM visited Khalapur toll plaza on expressway and reviewed the situation about congestion. Considering the Ganeshotsav, Shinde asked authorities to increase scanning machines well as traffic wardens to ensure smooth passage of passengers during the festival.
