Faulty traffic signals pose threat to city commuters

Commuters in the city are worried as faulty traffic signals at several intersections pose a threat of accidents. The absence of traffic police at the intersections where signals are not functional or are covered by tree branches adds to the problem, especially in the view of decreasing visibility in the early hours due to fog.

Commuters in the city are worried as faulty traffic signals at several intersections pose a threat of accidents. The absence of traffic police at the intersections where signals are not functional or are covered by tree branches adds to the problem, especially in the view of decreasing visibility in the early hours due to fog.

The absence of traffic police at the intersections where signals are not functional or are covered by tree branches adds to the problem, especially in the view of decreasing visibility in the early hours due to fog. (Salman Ali/HT)

Commuters said that the traffic police are also failing to act on complaints they lodge through the recently launched traffic application.

There are 105 intersections with the presence of traffic signals in the city. A large number of signals, at important intersections, are often out of order, commuters said.

Signals at the sector 12/56 intersection, Mamura Chowk, Sector 10 intersection, sector 22/23 intersection, Sector 15 intersection, among several others on the internal roads of sectors 62 and 63, are faulty at present.

“On October 9, the traffic police launched an application to improve traffic flow in the city. It has a feature for feedback from commuters, but it is useless. I have complained about jams and non-functional traffic signals several times, but never got a reply,” said Sumit Shekhar, a resident of Swastha Vihar, Delhi who has his office in Sector 62.

“We witness faulty traffic signals often at the intersection near National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) and Sector 62, which have a very high volume of traffic in the evening. I am worried about the months ahead as winter has set in and dense fog is going to compound the problem,” Shekhar said.

The sector 12/22, 12/56 and 22/23 intersections are other busy points that witness a huge traffic volume daily, including a large number of shared autorickshaws that cause traffic jams and chaos on roads, residents said.

“People moving from Sector 16 towards Sector 56 have to cross the traffic signal at the sector 12/22 T-point. The signals here are often out of order or keep flashing multiple colours, confusing many. Some commuters also jump the light in the absence of adequate police personnel,” Nirbhay Singh of Sector 33 said.

He said that a similar situation exists at the sector 22/56 intersection as the signal is covered by tree branches.

Jagat Ram of Khora said, “I was driving from NH-24 to Labour Chowk via NIB and the signals at all the three intersections on this stretch are faulty. I had to drive slowly to avoid accidents in the evening.”

The police said that they will inform officials concerned.

“We will write to the Noida authority in this regard soon after we get a complaint in this regard,” Prabal Pratap Singh, superintendent of police (SP), traffic, Gautam Budh Nagar, said.

He said additional police personnel have been deployed at busy intersections to manage traffic during the winter to prevent jams and accidents.

Salil Yadav, project engineer (electrical wing), Noida authority, said, “We have not received any complaint in this regard from the traffic police. However, we will ask the officials concerned to find out if there is any problem.”