Five months on, plan to decongest Savitri flyover still on paper

Residents of South Delhi are peeved at the repeated delays in decongesting the Savitri junction.

It’s been five months since the Public Works Department (PWD) had prepared the proposal to turn the single carriageway Savitri flyover into dual carriageway. However, the project is still on paper as the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) is yet to give its approval.

Details of the status were revealed in a meeting held by PWD minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday which was attended by PWD officials, GK MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj and Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) of Greater Kailash-II, CR Park and representatives of Citizens’ Alliance — a group of RWAs from across the city.

With an aim to reduce congestion on two major points in the region, the flyovers near Savitri and Nehru Place were constructed in 2001. However, within years of their construction, the existing single carriageway flyover at Savitri failed to cope up with the pressure of the ever-increasing traffic volume on this stretch. This forced the government to explore possibility of converting it into a dual carriageway flyover.

While an upcoming metro station, GK Enclave, has been welcomed by residents, they are equally worried that it would only increase the number of vehicles in the area leading to more congestion. “Making Savitri flyover double-lane was passed by the PWD in August, we will be holding meetings with the UTTIPEC urging them to expedite the process,” said Jain.

To serve the residential colonies like Greater Kailash-2, GK Enclave-2, Masjid Moth, CR Park and Alaknanda, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has planned only one entry or exit point at the corner of Savitri Cinema for the metro station. But residents are not happy with the decision.

“A study by RITES had revealed that more than 20,000 people in the morning peak hours will be using the station. Now, assuming an average of two persons per vehicle, this translates to 1,200 vehicles per hour that will stop and start somewhere around the Savitri crossing during peak hours. It is going to make our lives worse,” said Neena Gangahar, a member of Citizens’s Alliance.