No entry: Diversion for autos, e-ricks near Atta, Sec 18 mkts

Noida: Traffic police on Thursday stopped the entry of autorickshaws and e-rickshaws on the 250-metre stretch from Atta Chowk to Atta Peer in a drive to decongest the area between the city’s two busiest markets.
The drive came into effect after an April 25 trial yielded positive results, said Ganesh Prasad Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), GB Nagar.
The stretch is along the Sector 18 market and the Atta Market in Sector 27 – both separated by Captain Vijyant Thapar Marg.
“Earlier we found that the stretch was choked due to e-rickshaws and autos, and people faced problems in navigating. Shoppers also faced problems due to congestion in both the markets. We decided not to allow entry for autos and e-rickshaws throughout the day,” he said.
With this change, autorickshaw and e-rickshaw drivers will be diverted to other routes. For instance, those moving towards Botanical Garden to Sector 16 will have to go along Greater India Place (GIP mall) and then take the u-turn below the Film City flyover and move along the DLF Mall.
Commuters and shopkeepers in the area largely welcomed the decision, although autorickshaw drivers said it will hurt them.
“The route will take 10-15 minutes extra. Fuel prices have also increased... Commuters will not pay if we increase our fares,” said Lal Babu, Lal Babu, who drives an autorickshaw in the city
CB Jha, president of the Atta Market Association, said there were around 700 shops there. “In the evenings, the market area is choked because of the sheer number of vehicles. The traffic police’s decision to restrict autos and e-rickshaws will reduce this chaos. But it could also lead to a drop in the number of customers,” he said. He pointed out that there are other issues in the area as well: encroachments by vendors and illegal pedestrian crossings that bring vehicular movement to snail’s pace.
“There is a huge rush of people in the evening as many of them cross the road. This automatically slows down the traffic. There is no traffic light or pedestrian crossing near the Sector 18 market (metro station is normally supposed to be taken for crossings). We have demanded construction of a foot-over-bridge (FOB). But developing it is difficult as the metro line crosses there. At least an underground subway should be developed to facilitate pedestrians,” he said.
S K Jain, president of the Sector 18 market association, also said there are around 1000 shops in the market and thousands visit every day. “The officials should develop an FOB/subway which can connect Sector 18 to Atta Market and the neighbouring Sector 28 residential area,” he said. DCP Saha said on Thursday the traffic police have recommended the Noida Authority to develop a subway or an FOB in the area.