School children suffer due to PMC’s ill-planned work on Undri-NIBM Link Road
Children are taking at least 40 minutes to one hour to return home from school even as children staying beyond a 2 km radius from the school
Despite three days of tweaking the movement of traffic on the roads in Mohammadwadi, the main Undri-Mohammadwadi-NIBM Link Road continues to be severely congested with school going children and their parents among the worst affected. According to those whose children study at Sanskriti School and who stay close to the school, their children are taking at least 40 minutes to one hour to return home from school even as children staying beyond a 2 km radius from the school are reaching home at the same time if not earlier.
Atik Pathan, a parent, said, “The school children are taking 40 minutes to one hour to return home from school and are reaching home at around 2.30 pm. The spots near Marvel Sangria and near Sanskriti School need to be monitored closely by the traffic department as jams are being reported at these spots. The buses are not able to manoeuvre through these areas. Also, the slope of the stretch from Palace Orchard Society to Clover Mall needs to be reduced, and the cement and concrete remnants that have fallen on the road and dried up need to be cleared. A number of two-wheeler riders are skidding off the road and sustaining injuries due to the lack of repair and maintenance by the PMC.”
Manjushree Waghmare, a resident of NIBM, said, “My daughter returns home nearly 45 minutes late every day due to heavy traffic jams around Palace Orchard Society which is near Sanskriti School. The entire road is in bad shape and the PMC is doing nothing about it. The precious time of our school going children is being wasted due to traffic congestion and lack of planning by the road department. Also, the open manholes pose a serious challenge to the lives of two-wheeler riders and still, nothing is being done about it.”
Whereas former chief income tax commissioner Akramul Jabbar Khan said, “The entire road from Clover Mall to Marvel Sangria must be constructed anew; the construction of this stretch has been held back for reasons best known to the PMC. School going children are getting stuck in traffic for hours and the PMC is being so casual about it. We need immediate construction of the road so that citizens don’t have to suffer anymore. Also, the slope reduction work from Clover Mall to Palace Orchard Society must be carried out on a war footing.”
When contacted, sub-engineer, road development, PMC, Avinash Kamthe, assured that all of the citizens’ grievances will be taken into account and necessary steps will be taken to provide relief to the school going children and other commuters.
For students of Bishop’s School, Delhi Public School, VIBGYOR school, Hill Green School and Sanskriti School, there is no escaping the Undri-Mohammadwadi-NIBM Link Road during the commute to and from school. Thousands of students travel to these schools from different areas of the city in the morning and return home in the afternoon.
The Nyati County Citizens’ Forum, Anandvan Parisar Citizens’ Forum, and NIBM Annexe Citizens’ Forum - the three largest citizens’ forums - have condemned the PMC road department for starting the slope reduction work at Anandvan Gate without taking the citizens, area residents and police into confidence which is causing traffic chaos in the area.
