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Non-functional lights and chaotic traffic
KATHMANDU, JAN 13 - Rukmani Shrestha along with her two sons wait at a zebra crossing in Maitighar junction to cross the road. But the passing vehicles show no sign of stopping.
Across the lane where she stands, the traffic light for pedestrians was off and so was the light signal for vehicles.
"It is very difficult to cross the road in the absence of traffic lights, especially with children along," complained Shrestha, adding "the drivers of these vehicles show no consideration and don’t give way to pedestrians."
On the other hand, drivers also face problems created by non-functioning traffic lights. Yubaraj Upadhaya, a motorcyclist from Ghattekulo said, "Nowadays it is really difficult to pass through this way. As there are no lights big vehicles tend to overtake without even bothering about the presence of smaller vehicles."
It has been more than a month that the traffic lights at Maitighar crossing, one of the busiest junctions in the capital, have been non-functional, creating confusion to the passers by. Traffic lights at seven different sites have been rendered useless, after a Pajero, with registration number Ba 4 Pa 513, crashed into the control box at midnight on 25 November 2003.
However, Romendra Deuja, Deputy Superintendent of Valley Traffic Police Office, informed that only one of the seven lights has been damaged. Deuja said, "The lights cannot be used as damage in one gives rise to timing problem and traffic management will be chaotic."
As per Durga Awasthi, Senior Divisional Engineer of the Department of Road, the cost of repairs for the damaged control box is estimated to be Rs 720,000. "The driver of the Pajero is under custody and legal procedures to extract compensation from is going on. But it is a long process," said Awasthi.
Informing about the lack of budget in the department for reconstruction of the traffic lights Awasthi said, "The cost of reinstalling the light is very high and as JICA the original donor of the project showed no interest, we are looking for donor organisations for instant solution."
With financial assistance from JICA, traffic lights were installed in 11 thoroughfares of the Kathmandu Valley more than a year before. Not only the lights at Maitighar, but also lights at other main roads of the valley seem to be malfunctioning very often creating a mess in traffic flow.
D.S.P Deuja said, "Other lights are not faulty but we put them on flash whenever there are rallies and during VVIP motorcades for the management of traffic." He added, "On those occasions, we allocate extra forces to manage the traffic pressure."Posted on: 2004-01-14 04:07
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