Open median on busy road: How delayed works created risky cut
A LPG tanker explosion on Jaipur-Ajmer highway killed 12, highlighting ongoing concerns over poor traffic management and hazardous construction work.
The stretch of Jaipur-Ajmer highway where 12 people lost their lives and several more were left with severe burns in Friday’s LPG tanker explosion has long been a source of concern for local residents, who blame poor traffic management and ongoing construction work for creating hazardous conditions.
The accident site, a U-turn near Delhi Public School in Bhankrota area, has witnessed multiple accidents in recent years, according to residents. The spot has become particularly dangerous due to construction work on a new flyover and Ring Road project that has stretched on for years.
“The accident is the result of negligence by the administration,” said Abhishek Jain, a Bhankrota resident. “The construction work has been going on for around two years and due to that the roads were narrowed down which increased the traffic load on this route. Accidents are reported daily but the police and administration have not done anything.”
The timing of Friday’s accident — around 5am — may have prevented an even greater tragedy, Jain noted. “If it had happened around 8am or 9am, the extent of the damage could have been much worse.”
The Jaipur-Ajmer highway serves as a crucial link in Rajasthan’s transport network, connecting to routes leading to Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This results in heavy traffic flow, including numerous commercial vehicles and tankers carrying hazardous materials.
Local police acknowledged the safety concerns. “A few days back a cop was killed by a speeding vehicle on this route,” said Manish Gupta, station house officer of Bhankrota. “Better traffic management is required and that is for the NHAI and JDA to regulate traffic.”
State public works department principal secretary Praveen Gupta said the ongoing Ring Road construction has significantly disrupted traffic patterns. “The cut in the road from where trucks take a U-turn is to get on to the Ring Road which is a bypass to Jaipur. Once the Ring Road is complete, trucks will ply on that and not enter Jaipur,” Gupta said.
For residents, Friday’s tragedy was a disaster waiting to happen. Shilpa Sharma, who was at SMS Hospital visiting a neighbour with 56% burn injuries from the accident, said many crashes have occurred at the same U-turn. “Few days ago, a bus collided with another bus at the same place. Many heavy vehicles keep passing through the narrow U-turn but the government nor the administration cares about it or has taken any action. We lost our close ones today only due to such negligence.”
The configuration of the U-turn itself has become more dangerous due to construction work, according to Akhiram Sharma, who lost his brother in Friday’s accident. “There are two lanes in that U-Turn. However, one has been blocked for the last one year for the ongoing construction work for the Ring Road project. The traffic management is extremely poor at the spot and heavy vehicles keep taking the U-turns at the narrow turn, especially in the early morning hours.”
The location of the U-turn has raised particular concerns due to its proximity to both a school and fuel stations. “The cut in the road which is near DPS school leads to traffic jams and chaos,” said Jain, noting that the U-turn is barely 200 metres from the school and has petrol pumps on either side of the road.
In response to the tragedy, transport secretary Shuchi Tyagi has directed the Jaipur collector to form a committee to investigate the causes of the accident and recommend corrective measures. However, for local residents who have long warned about the dangers of this stretch, the response comes too late.
“The condition of the roads is also very poor in that spot,” added Akhiram Sharma, whose home is about 2 kilometres from the accident site. “The traffic management is extremely poor and heavy vehicles keep taking the U-turns at the narrow turn, especially in the early morning hours, which is dangerous.”