Nagpur: Daily wage sanitary worker of Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Anand Chirkut Lingayat (55), who was critically injured after being hit by a private travels bus at around 8am on October 2 on Central Avenue, died while undergoing treatment at GMCH on Wednesday.
Despite demonstrations and demand from BJP MLA Vikas Kumbhare and corporators, private buses continued to operate from Central Nagpur, especially at the busy Geetanjali Talkies Square on Central Avenue which is already congested due to ongoing Metro Rail works.
On Wednesday, TOI visited Geetanjali Square and found that Central Avenue is facing severe traffic problems due to these private bus terminals. The problem is especially acute near Geetanjali Talkies area as private buses plying to various destinations in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh often lead to traffic jams.
There are several junctions along Central Avenue, and in the absence of a traffic police, there are jams most of the time.
Motorists said that they have never seen traffic cops trying to ease the congestion caused due to these private buses at any of these spots. “So, whenever a bus arrives or leaves, there is complete chaos on the main road,” said Abhishek Bhusari, a motorist.
Private buses coming from Gandhibagh side first block the traffic as they wait to turn into the Hansapuri side. Then, all these buses block the traffic on the busy Central Avenue.
Violation of even basic rules by private buses causes frequent traffic jams. “The road width of Central Avenue is already narrow due to ongoing Metro work. Private buses, which are least bothered about traffic rules, add to the woes. Traffic remains clogged for 15-20 minutes at a time,” said Ashok Gavai, a resident of Hansapuri.
Gavai and Bhusari alleged corruption is preventing the traffic police to regulate private buses from this busy square. They also pointed out that even high court had passed an order to traffic police to regulate operation of private buses smoothly. But in vain, said Bhusari.
Especially during early morning and evening hours, when bus traffic is the highest, the situation worsens to the point of an absolute mess. The private bus owners behave like an organized gang, and don’t think twice about beating up people when anyone questions them about violating traffic rules.
Former corporator Sanjay Balpande said the drivers and conductors of these buses do not care for the safety of other vehicles. They allow passengers to travel on footboards and get down in the middle of the road, sometime even while the vehicle is in motion. “They are endangering their passengers while also putting other motorists in a difficult position. This shows their disregard for the safety of passengers,” Balpande said.
Cotton Market zone’s senior traffic PI Dilip Phulpagare asked his zone to issue notices to all the operators plying buses from Central Avenue, especially from Geetanjlai Talkies Square. “Instructions have been issued to the operators not to ply buses during peak hours. In the recent past, challans have been issued to over 300 private buses for violating traffic rules and regulations,” he said.