Jawahar Marg bridge – which was damaged due to heavy rains on Friday — was officially sealed for six months on Sunday, traffic police faced hard time in managing traffic on this busy road which connects the eastern part of the city to the western regions.
The vehicular movement generally remains very less on Sundays but jams still took place on roads which connected Jawahar Marg as a bridge on it was closed. Police teams which were deployed on connecting roads to divert traffic had a tough time. They diverted all the traffic moving towards the bridge to MG Road or Pandrinath/ collectorate road which led to increase in pressure on the roads. Jam like situation took place on both MG and Pandrinath Road too.
Police manning bridge give up:
Seven policemen were deployed at the bridge to ensure that nobody crosses the barricades put on both sides of it. Till 2 pm, they turned each and every person reaching there but then they gave up. They told their senior officials that it would be impossible to stop people from entering the barricaded area the all day. They feared that people coming to Rajwada to see tableaux procession in the evening would enter the prohibited area and the bridge could collapse. To this, Indore Municipal Corporation sent tin sheds to seal the bridge.
Acid test from Tuesday
Being a Sunday, there was less traffic on Jawahar Marg, which generally sees around 2 lakh vehicles every day. As it’s a local holiday on Monday, the situation would be somewhat same like it was on Sunday. But on Tuesday, there may be chaos when two lakh vehicles would take diverted routes. Handling situation on that day will not be easy for traffic police. In traffic department, 90 per cent officers are new to the city. So they are finding it detailed plan for diversion.
Bridge to remain closed till new one is constructed
City engineer Arun Goyal said that the 58-year-old bridge has been closed till a new one is constructed at the place. He said that it may take around six months for the new bridge to be constructed. He signalled at starting construction of new bridge within a fortnight. “Whatever official formalities need to be done will be done at the earliest and the construction on the bridge would be started. Jawahar Marg bridge is also part of Smart city project.
Bridge weakens brick by brick
The bridge is weakening brick by brick. On Friday evening, the plaster of a pillar had started peeling off. Many bricks had also fallen off making the bridge rickety and weak. A portion of the huge pillar had fallen apart. Fearing that it could collapse, the IMC had barricaded the bridge and stopped vehicular movement on it. In the morning, more bricks fell off from the pillar weakening it further.
Take these routes
1. People who go to Rajwada or surrounding markets via Jawahar Marg should now take Nandalalpura route or PY Rod near Rajwada.
2. Commuters using Jawahar Marg to reach collectorate and Mhow Naka should take Rambagh route. They should go to Bada Gapanti from Rambagh Square and from there Mhow Naka and collectorate.
3. Those who want to go to Harshiddhi or Pandrinath should take turn from Safi Hotel and reach the destination by passing through Juni Indore and Raoji Bazaar police station.
4. Those who want to come to centre of the city from the collectorate side, should take Tower Square route. People who want to reach Sarvate bus stand should use Juni Indore and Murai Mohalla routes.