Court still waits for a speed-breaker outside its building

Surat: The tables have turned for lawyers practising at the Surat district court, who are now awaiting justice from the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) for the past two years.
A long-pending demand of the lawyers for construction of speed-breakers on the main road outside the court building in Athwalines as protection from speeding vehicles seems to be going on the lines of pending court judgments.
On regular days, the district court located on the Athwalines is teeming with tens of hundreds of people including lawyers, litigants and policemen. Being one of the busiest road, vehicles zoom past the court building in the absence of speed-breakers. Those crossing the road outside the court building have to remain extra vigilant and that there have been minor accidents reported in the past.
It was in 2017, the speed-breakers on the road outside the court building were demolished during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow ahead of the Assembly election. Despite various reminders by the Surat District Bar Association (SDBA), the SMC is yet to construct speed-breakers on the main road.
Sources said that the entire stretch from Surat airport to Athwalines main witness VVIP movements including that of CM, ministers from state and the central government. However, the entire stretch has been kept clear of speed-breakers.
President of SDBA, Brijesh Patel told TOI, “We have sent several letters to the SMC including the Athwa zone for constructing speed-breakers outside the court building, but no action has been taken from the last two years. If there is a VVIP movement, it doesn’t mean that the innocent people should suffer. We have been facing lot of difficulties crossing the road on the other side in absence of speed-breakers.”
Patel added, “The traffic situation at the court building is worse during the peak hours. Since the entire parking space inside the court building remains chock-a-block, the lawyers and litigants must occupy the parking space on both the sides of the road. It is a challenge to cross the road from the other side due to the speeding vehicles”
An advocate, Zameer Shaikh said, “I narrowly escaped an accident a few days ago from a speeding car. I was crossing the road when the car suddenly appeared in front of me. The driver applied brakes on time or else I would have been hit hard. Many people are facing similar situation on a daily basis.”
Talking with TOI, deputy municipal commissioner, Rajesh Pandya said, “We have been told by the police department that the entire stretch from the airport to Athwalines is for the VVIP movement and so there will be no speed-breakers. We will have to take permission from the police department to construct speed breakers in front of the court.”