NMC shuts Canal Rd entry from East HC Rd

Nagpur: Going against the traffic police, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has allegedly closed the entry of Ramdaspeth Canal Road near Reliance Centro Mall, resulting into traffic congestion on East High Court Road.
Earlier, NMC had issued a notification proposing to close the entire Ramdaspeth Canal Road from Panchsheel Square to VIP Road for three months from February 1 to April 30 to pave way for construction of a new bridge near the University Library.
When office of the deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Chetna Tidke objected the move in February, NMC closed only part of the road surrounding the old bridge, allowing movement of vehicles on either side of the road while diverting traffic to inner bylanes of Ramdaspeth.
NMC had obtained no objection certificate (NOC) from the DCP’s office to close the part of the road for three months. The validity of the NOC ends on Sunday.
The DCP’s office confirmed that neither the traffic police have granted permission to close the road entrance near the mall nor the contractor has applied for NOC extension.
Assistant municipal commissioner (Dharampeth zone) Prakash Warade said the road has been closed as per a notification issued by the civic body. “It has been done to ensure smooth construction of the bridge so that it is completed within the prescribed time and opened to traffic,” said Warade but failed to justify why the part of the stretch from East High Court Road to University Library has been closed.
The construction of the bridge is not going on at a satisfactory pace and it seems it may not be completed by the deadline, as per local residents and motorists.
On Saturday, TOI found motorists taking diverion to other roads after finding barricades at the Canal Road entrance near the mall. Those coming from the University Library side were startled to see the road closed near the mall. It makes no sense to close the road when no construction work was underway here, said motorists.
In the past, Ramdaspeth residents had raised objections over the closure of Canal Road, but to no avail.
NMC has engaged Sunny Infrastructure to construct the bridge. The contractor was supposed to put up LED detour signs, but it has not been done.