Rani Jhansi flyover opens, causes jams as one side shut for launch

The 1.6 kilometre flyover, which starts near St Stephen’s Hospital and extends till Filmistan Cinema, was meant to decongest most areas in central Delhi.

When the Rani Jhansi grade separator was inaugurated on Tuesday, after a 10-year delay, it was meant to be a boon to commuters long hassled by snarls. The opposite, however, was what happened. Commuters faced a harrowing time crossing the stretch as one carriageway of the flyover was closed for the inaugural ceremony and other associated functions.

Traffic snarls were witnessed on the Rani Jhansi flyover after it was thrown open to the public on Tuesday. (Sushil Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The 1.6 kilometre flyover, which starts near St Stephen’s Hospital and extends till Filmistan Cinema, was meant to decongest most areas in central Delhi.

It has provision of loops near Baraf Khana Chowk and DCM Chowk to help commuters access the grade separator.

It will also decongest roads leading towards Kamla Market and Delhi Ridge and connect to Pusa Road, Upper Ridge and Rohtak Road through Filmistan Cinema, DCM Chowk, Azad Market and Roshanara Road.

But Tuesday afternoon brought no respite to commuters. For most part of the day, the stretch from Tis Hazari to Filmistan was shut despite the inaugural ceremony getting over by noon. It took this correspondent almost 35 minutes to cross the 1.6km stretch as food was being distributed at the end of one carriageway of the flyover till late afternoon.

“Despite knowing that this is a busy stretch and always sees chock-a-block during peak hours, the civic agency decided to erect tents for the ceremony on a portion of the flyover and the road. Even after the ceremony was over, it took hours for them to remove these tents and open that side of the flyover to traffic,” Anil Agarwal, a resident of Karol Bagh, said.

“Between Bara Hindu Rao and Filmistan Cinema, the situation was maddening in the afternoon. There was no traffic police personnel in the area and vehicles were converging from all sides, leading to a complete mess at the intersection. I hope that the situation improves from Wednesday,” Anees Ahmed, a resident of Bara Hindu Rao, said.

Even after the inaugural ceremony, the North corporation employees were seen giving finishing touches to the services below the flyover such as ramps around the pillars as well as levelling the parking area. Near the gurdwara at the Azad Market crossing, construction equipment were still lying on both sides of the road.

Detailing the feature of the project during the inauguration ceremony, Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had said the project was one among the multiple long-delayed projects in Delhi and its status was brought to his notice during a review meeting last year. “There are several other projects that have been stalled from a long time, causing inconvenience to the people of the Delhi. To complete such projects, political will and a strong leadership are needed,” he said.