Nagpur: At a time when the BJP-ruled Nagpur Municipal Corporation is ignoring the trouble caused to citizens due to slow pace of cement road works, the Nagpur traffic police have warned five contractors carrying out cement concretization of roads of taking legal actions for violating safety norms.
The contractors who got the legal action notice from deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Chaitanya S included Abhi Engineering Corporation Limited, Unity Infraprojects, JPE-SRK Infra and Constructions, RPS Infraprojects Pvt Ltd and Ashwini Developers and Contractors.
Confirming this, a senior police official told TOI that at most sites, they come across many safety violations and hence the notices of taking legal action were served to the contractors. “Until the contractors ensure safety of motorists, no new permission will be issued to carry out the work,” he clarified.
Presently, the work is on at 45 different roads including seven routes of two flyover sites and 38 cement road sites in the city and most of them witness heavy traffic, the officer said, adding most cement concretization of road works are being executed at a snail’s pace.
TOI visited many under construction sites on Wednesday and found brazen violation at most sites. Many heavy machines, such as piling machine, trucks and cranes, working inside barricades at Metro Rail and flyover sites with traffic flowing on either sides have made it an accident-prone area, motorists said.
Though MahaMetro has taken all precautionary measures, but cement road contractors are not following terms and conditions of the NOC. According to the city police guidelines, a contractor carrying out the work must take necessary precautions for the safety of traffic during construction by providing, erecting and maintaining traffic by constructing strong vertical posts, GI sheets barricading, fencing, signboards, blinkers, flasher boards, rotaries, directive signboards, red flags etc.
One of the major conditions is round-the-clock deployment of traffic wardens at sites. But TOI found this norm was being brazenly violated. Even outside the office of police commissioner not a single traffic warden was found on the stretch between Ladies Club Square and Japanese Garden Square.
As one side of the road is closed for work, motorists are using one lane for both sides traffic. No barricading has been done to bifurcate the traffic.
TOI also found traffic jams were common near construction sites and often motorists too violate rules in inner Ring Road. If not wardens, the traffic police must ensure discipline, mainly in such risk-prone areas, was the general opinion of the motorists.
According to DCP, most contractors have failed to appoint traffic wardens to guide motorists or put up warning signage like diversion boards.
Ahead of 2017 civic polls, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation has launched road works at various locations in the city. Most works are being executed at a snail’s pace, disrupting traffic and posing a threat to motorists, said some traffic cops. So, the traffic police department has decided to take action against private firms which are not carrying out the works as per set guidelines. The office has also clarified that the traffic police branch would not give any new permission unless work on the existing roads is complete.
