Noida-Greater Noida routes hit by crime,traffic congestion

HT took all three routes commuters use to travel between the two cities

Commuters face a tough time travelling between Noida and Greater Noida as each of the three routes between the twin cities suffers from either traffic congestion, unsafe roads or poor law and order situation due to inadequate police patrolling and check posts, lack of enough streetlights and unmanned roads.

The Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, while relatively free of crime and traffic congestion, sees a lot of accidents during winters due to fog and low visibility. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo)

HT travelled to Greater Noida from Noida to experience the difficulties commuters face on a daily basis. Starting from a common point, there are three major routes to travel to reach Pari Chowk intersection in Greater Noida.These routes are the Greater Noida extension route, the Dadri-Bhangel route and the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway.

Greater Noida extension route

This route, which takes commuters to Pari Chowk via Bisrakh, has vast unmanned stretches and lack of proper police check posts. From Noida City Centre metro station to Pari Chowk, it takes approximately 50 minutes to cover the distance of 28 kilometres if one uses Vikas Marg to travel to Kishan Chowk intersection in Greater Noida extension and then takes a right turn to Pari Chowk via Bisrakh and Surajpur.

“Two weeks ago, a woman was attacked by bikers who snatched her jewellery and fled . Another family was attacked a month ago when they stopped their vehicle near the road during the day,” said Karan Singh, a resident of Supertech society at Bisrakh.

There are a total of eight intersections from Kishan Chowk to Police Lines in Surajpur, but there are only three police chowkis in the 10km area. The remaining 2km stretch also lacks street lights, thereby increasing the vulnerability of commuters.

Dadri-Bhangel route

The rampant traffic jams and pothole-filled roads are a bane for commuters using this route to travel to Greater Noida. It takes a total of 50 minutes to cover the 25 km from Noida’s Sector 18 to Pari Chowk. One has to take the Dadri main road to reach Bhangel, Noida Phase 2, Surajpur and then Pari Chowk. However, it takes longer during peak hours.

“Heavy vehicles such as trucks and lorries take this route to come from Greater Noida and are often the reason for jams. We avoid using the road in the morning as it usually results in getting stuck in traffic for several minutes,” said Kulshreshta Yadav, a resident of Habibpur, Noida.

Noida-Greater Noida Expressway

Probably the fastest route to reach Greater Noida, it takes approximately 25 minutes to cover the 25 km from Film City in Sector 16 A to Pari Chowk in Greater Noida. Commuters on this route are saved from traffic congestion due to the wide roads and incidents of crime are seldom reported from the expressway. However, there are frequent accidents during winters due to the low visibility brought about by fog.

“During winters, we frequently patrol the expressway to find out about any accidents on the expressway. Victims can also dial 100 for any assistance and a PCR van will be there within minutes,” said Bijender Bhadana, station house officer (SHO), Expressway police station.