How to end border jam sessions? Gurugram Police to talk on streamline plan

GURUGRAM: For commuters heading to the national capital from the city, the journey via the Delhi-Gurugram expressway can often be a test of patience. The Sirhaul toll plaza was dismantled in February 2014, but congestion still prevails in the area.
Cars coming from under the Shankar Chowk flyover get stuck at the MCD toll booths meant for commercial vehicles - six lanes on the left side of the Gurugram-Delhi carriageway are reserved for the same.

On the other hand, traffic gets choked on the unreserved lanes when toll collectors stop cabbies trying to slip past the MCD booths.
The funnel shape of the Sirhaul border, frequent barricading by Delhi Police for checking on the national capital side and breakdown of vehicles on the Gurugram-Delhi carriageway are some other causes of traffic chaos in the area.
To find a solution to this problem, Gurugram police have decided to soon hold talks with the Delhi traffic police. So far, there is no coordination between the traffic wings of the two police departments.
"Now the focus is on coordinated traffic management by Gurugram and Delhi cops to streamline the movement of vehicles at the border. We will soon have a meeting with our counterparts in Delhi to improve coordination and find a solution to the traffic jams at Sarhaul border," said Gurugram's DCP (traffic) Virender Singh Sangwan.
According to police, traffic jams on the Gurugram side are mainly due to congestion on the Delhi side. The meeting will focus on sharing information about installation of checkposts by Delhi Police, sharing of resources for early removal of vehicles in case of breakdown and coordinated deployment of manpower for traffic management.
At present, Delhi and Gurugram police make separate deployments at different timings and there is also little coordination between cops of the two cities.
Officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said that the "geometry" of the Gurugram-Delhi carriageway is to be blamed for the perennial traffic chaos in the area of the Sirhaul toll plaza.
"If you see the width of the carriageway, it suddenly bulges out at the now-defunct Sirhaul toll plaza before narrowing again beyond it. As a result, traffic moves in a higher volume at a faster pace towards Mahipalpur, but that area does not have the capacity to handle the vehicular pressure at that pace, leading to a traffic jam situation," said a senior NHAI official.
"Apart from the wrong road design, toll collection by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and high volume of traffic on the expressway particularly during the peak hours are also to be blamed," he said.
People who travel frequently between Delhi and Gurugram claim that it takes several minutes to reach IGI Airport from Sarhaul. "One reaches the Sarhaul border in no time. After that, vehicles start moving at snail's pace," said Ravi Sharma, a resident of Sector 40 Gurugram, who works in Delhi.