Palampur’s traffic woes: two intersections merit urgent attention

I spoke about the Palampur bypass (or: how to misuse a facility!) last week. This has made me turn my thoughts on another dimension to the traffic woes faced by a Palampurwalla almost on a daily basis. One noteworthy ‘trouble spot’ is the area in the vicinity of the Fire Brigade Office (near hotel Tea-Bud) on the narrow but beautiful road that meanders from the town to Lohna/Bundla/ Saurabh Van Vihar… with a lovely view of the tea gardens and deodars to greet you on the way. Since there is a DAV Public School and KLB DAV Girls’ college in close proximity approached by a road-diversion near the Fire Brigade office, vehicles of all descriptions deployed to ferry the school children are parked on each and every vacant area around that intersection.  Even huge army trucks and big buses are parked by the roadside, thereby constricting the road. And mind you, these monoliths get parked in the morning at the time of school opening hours and stay so until the last school bell. And the picture that presents itself at the peak hours i.e. at 9 AM (school opening time) and 3 PM (school closing time) is one of utter chaos. Wary and wise residents, usually avoid taking this road during these hours. Whenever I have done so, I have had my heart in the mouth, caught in a messy jam. But then there can be emergencies and unforeseen situations when you have no choice but to drive through that road at the busy hour. Well, in that case, you will be lucky if you don’t get caught in a jam resulting from the ensuing melee.

 Can something be done to remove this man-made bottleneck and de-clog this area? Could these heavy vehicles which remain stationed there from morning till afternoon be parked away somewhere else and arrive there only at the school closing time? Can not a traffic cop(s) be deployed here (and also at the point near the St. Paul School) both at the school opening and closing time (just about half an hour’s job) to regulate traffic and thereby ensure a smoother passage for other/all vehicles? We would welcome it and put our hands together for the authorities if proper steps are taken to facilitate proper traffic flow in the aforementioned part of this very important link road of Palampur.

Another jarring stretch starts from Ram Chowk right up to the Santoshi mata mandir chowk and even further ahead through the main Ghughar market. The road at Ram chowk is narrow, crowded and perpetually pot-holed.  What makes it much worse is the vehicle parking along most of its right flank. In fact it is a regular, inescapable feature of this part of the road. There are 2-wheelers, jeeps, tractors, cars parked there without any check or concern about the inconvenience caused to the passing vehicles. And when a bus is passing through with an odd vehicle parked on the other side as well, your driving skills as well as patience to thread your way smoothly through are put to a severe test.  Cannot something be done about it? Surely, the vehicles that are routinely parked - seemingly on a permanent basis - can be asked to move away. The road can be rid of the pits and pot holes. And again a cop can monitor and regulate the traffic at the Ram chowk intersection. Surely suchlike measures if brought into effect by the local authorities would go a long way in improving the situation and mitigating our traffic woes to a considerable extent. Again we, the residents, would give them a big hand and applaud them for remedying the situation.

  Can't the army bus  be parked away from the road?

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हुई लाल बत्ती गुल तो क्या ?

क्यों  होते  हो  इतने  खुश मेरे  भाई 'ग़र  लाल  बत्ती  हो गयी है, आज  हमारी   गुल,

हमारी शानोशौकत, बंगला , भत्ते , वीआईपी स्टेटस तो  है तब भी सलामत बिलकुल।

हम  मन  वचन  और  करम  से  अब  भी  रहेंगे वीआईपी, सुन लो आज   मेरे भाई,

चप्पल  मारें, धमकाएं  या उड़ानें  रुकवाएं  हम, कानून  की  ऐसी कम तैसी मेरे भाई।

हम  ठहरे  एमएलए/ /एमपी या  अफ़सर  मेरे भाई , क्यों करते हो बहस लड़ाई,

आप लोग  हैं  आम सी  जनता, थोड़ा   फर्क़   तो  समझो  और जानो  मेरे  भाई?

झूठे  वादों,/ मसल्ल / मनी   पावर और  धर्म/जाति के  नारों  से अगला चुनाव भी  जीतेंगे हम,

तब फिर अन्य  नहीं, अपने बेटा/बेटी/घरवालों को  ही  यह  मज़ेदार   बागडोर  सौंपेंगे हम।

इस पावर  का  नशा, ख़ुमार , तो लगता है बहुत  अनूठा,  बहुत सुखदायी,

क्यों  न फिर  यह  चले  पुश्त-दर-पुश्त, यह  लाज़बाब पेशा  मेरे  भाई?

इसीलिए कहता हूँ फिर, ग़म  नहीं मेरे  भाई,  'गर हुई  हमारी  लाल बत्ती  अभी गुल,

कानून मरोड़, निकालेंगे तोड़: रहेगी बजती सदा  हमारी, पावर की यह ढोल/बिगुल।

                                                                      

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Quotes of the week

Every Indian is a VIP, beacon culture should have gone long ago

                 - PM Modi

Prayers anywhere shouldn't disturb others

                 - Javed Akhtar

We make peace with our enemies not our friends

                  - A character in serial Game of thrones (season 5)

Why can't women live in peace in this country?

                   - Supreme court

महिला को प्रेम के लिए मजबूर नहीं कर सकते 

                    - Supreme court

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Random headlines

Thousands rally in global march for science

                     - ToI

Tree spotted on mars, claims alien hunter

                     - Deccan Chronicle

Most habitable planets may lack dry land

                     - Deccan Herald

India's killer heatwaves claim 4620 deaths in last 4 years

                     - Deccan Herald

Bihar: Two-year-old child charged with molesting 35-year old woman

                     - Deccan Herald

6 lakh litres of blood wasted in five years due to lack of coordination between blood banks and hospitals

                      - EC

Triund camp (Dharamsala) in thge foothills of Dhauladhar facing hikers' littering menace: Waste Warriors

                     - Him Vani

Men crack sexist jokes to reaffirm their masculinity:study

                     - Deccan Herald

Strawberries may help fight breast cancer

                     - Deccan Herald

Take a bite: dark chocolate can protect brain  from ageing

                     - NDTV

Mindfulness meditation may boost mood in women:study

                     - Deccan Herald

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