Shoppers hit streets on last Sunday before Diwali, choke Noida’s Sector 18 roads

GREATER NOIDA: Some major roads in the city witnessed traffic jams for several hours from around 3pm on Sunday as revellers hit the streets in their cars for shopping on the last weekend before Diwali.
The worst-hit area was Sector 18, which houses several malls and shopping centres. The situation turned little better around 7.30pm, when the traffic police put in place a few diversions and most shoppers began returning home.

The traffic police agreed that the flow of vehicles was bound to rise as Diwali approached, but also blamed irresponsible parking of cars along the roads for eating up space on the streets and causing traffic to slow down. The need for more parking lots and a better management of traffic was felt a day after EPCA chairman Bhure Lal asked Noida Authority to make the Sector 18 market vehicle-free.

“There was traffic congestion in and around Sector 18 and other roads of central Noida, including Sab Mall square, Atta Chowk, Rajnigandha Chowk, GIP U-turn, Gurudwara road, roads in front of Wave Mall and DLF mall, Sector 18 Chowki road and arterial lanes leading to Sector 18,” traffic inspector Ravindra Vasishth said.

He pointed out that the cops could do little as the volume of traffic had almost doubled and the multilevel parking in Sector 18, which usually remains empty, was full by 5pm. Traffic police personnel advised shoppers to park their cars at the parking lot in malls or at a distance from the main shopping centre and walk their way to the main market to avoid jams.

Delhi resident Jehangir Khan said traffic jams in the market area were inevitable in the festival season, but advised a little patience for drivers. “I was coming from Mayur Vihar and was stuck in a jam on the Gurudwara road for at least 30 minutes. There were bikers, who entered the wrong lanes. Two persons stopped their cars at the entrance to the GIP underpass and started fighting because the vehicle of one of them had brushed against another. Moreover, there were not many police personnel at the major turns near the Sector 18 area,” Khan said.

Sushil Kumar Jain, president of the Sector 18 market association, blamed an apparent lack of traffic constables to manage the flow of vehicles. “There is no denying that the rush in the market doubled on Sunday. But the traffic jams happened because there was hardly anyone deputed from the traffic police to manage vehicles. All they do is create diversions and close turns where jams occur,” Jain added.

Asked if there were adequate traffic police personnel on the roads, Vasishth said he himself was manning traffic along with 7-8 constable in the market area. “From Monday, no autos, e-rickshaw or bikes will be allowed to go beyond Atta Peer Chowk towards Sector 18 metro station. Only pedestrians would be allowed.”