Traffic snarl at Mango, vehicles come to standstill

Jamshedpur, July 8: Scores of commuters, especially school students, on Friday faced a tough time due to a traffic snarl, which continued for several hours from 6 am. The snarl started when the students headed for their schools. The affected spots included the Mango Bridge, Dimna Road, Old Court Road, and Bhuiyandih Road.

According to information, Tata Steel UISL ( erstwhile) Jusco is currently engaged in making the roundabout near Jai Prakash Narayan Setu more compact by reducing its size to 10 diameters. The ongoing construction has added to the choked traffic, which threw normal life out of gear. An official said that the construction work is expected to be completed by July 15.

“Though the maintenance work of the bridge has been completed, the work on the roundabout started on July 1 and it is expected to be completed by July 15. This will ease traffic movement, “said an official.

The bridge project involved the replacement of five expansion joints, the laying of mastic asphalt on both carriageways to increase the ride quality, the construction of an 850 mm high central divider to guide the traffic and improved illumination by replacing existing light fittings.

 On the other hand, the commuters complained that they are often confronted with such situations. Moreover, a long queue of vehicles including trucks, trailers, auto-rickshaws, cars, and two-wheelers could be seen at the Mango bridge and the approach roads– Dimna Road, Pardih Road, Old Court Road, and Bhuiyandih Road.

The office-goers and others too faced a tough time crossing the bridge. Many of them were delayed in reaching their offices. Due to the jam, the No Entry regulations could not be followed today.

A section of commuters also blamed the traffic department for its inability to control the situation. “There would not have been such a mess had there been traffic constables to manage the situation,” complained a commuter.  Traffic police were deployed to control the situation two hours after the jam began. A group of youths also volunteered to manage the traffic.

A traffic constable deployed on the Mango bridge admitted the fact that traffic congestion has become a regular phenomenon. “With the expansion programmes of Tata Steel and other companies, there has been a rise in the number of heavy vehicles. The pitiable road conditions are also to be blamed as they often cause the breakdown of vehicles, “he said .

Ramesh Kumar, a student of Rajendra Vidhyalaya who was returning home after attending a school examination. But, he got trapped in a traffic jam at the Old Court Road, which leads to the Mango bridge. Normally, the auto-rickshaw that ferries him takes about half an hour to drop him home. But , today it took over two hours.