Moving towards Khilgaon flyover
Unruly rickshaws disturb the flow of traffic at the entrance to Khilgaon Flyover in Shahjahanpur.Photo: STAR
It was 7:00pm Wednesday. The left lane of the Khilgaon flyover leading to Malibagh and Bashabo was completely deserted, letting some people take a late evening stroll.
Few yards away stood hundreds of buses, private cars, covered lorries, three-wheelers and taxis -- bumper-to-bumper -- waiting to whip their way towards the empty flyover.
What lay between the legions of vehicles and their freedom was a haphazard flock of rickshaws lined towards the street leading to Khilgaon rail crossing.
"This is ridiculous," bellowed a driver as he stuck his head out of his blue saloon window and hurled curses at the rickshawpullers.
"Someone opting for the street towards the rail crossing is supposed to take the left lane. But who would be able to explain that to these rickshawpullers. They would poke their nose inside any direction whenever the fancy takes them," he said.
Behind the blue saloon lay stuck hundreds of minibuses, cars, autorickshaws, covered vans and taxis, most of which are bound for the flyover. The impatient motorists honked incessantly, while many turned off their engines and helplessly looked around. Some frustrated passengers even got off the buses and started walking.
For anyone traversing the Khilgaon flyover during the office hour rush on a regular occasion, this sort of experience is anything but rare.
"It sometimes takes over 20 minutes to reach the flyover from the intersection near Rajarbagh police lines," said Shafayet Hossain Ahmed, a resident of Shahjahanpur.
"The rickshaws, human hauliers going towards the rail crossing almost always occupy most of the street space, blocking the vehicles bound for the flyover," he said.
Motorists say the flyover itself is quite traffic-free. However, the streets leading up to the flyover is not.
"A lot of buses make their stops at the entry points to the flyover near Bashabo and Malibagh. By doing that they disturb the flow of traffic and create jams," said Ataur Rahman, a resident of Malibagh.
"But the traffic situation in Shahjahanpur is probably most problematic with the legions of rickshaws paddling their way towards the rail crossing. And we all know how disciplined drivers the rickshawpullers are," he said.
"I am quite surprised why the traffic police have not divided the lane leading to Khilgaon rail crossing yet. This would have kept the vehicles bound for the rail crossing to stay left without straying into the right," he added.
"Of course they would need to deploy traffic police there to make sure that vehicles follow their lane accordingly, otherwise the lane divider will be of little use," said Rahman.
To make matters worse, a number of shops selling furniture and bathroom fittings near the point usually have their stocks piled up near the street. They also have large covered lorries parked on the street sides to unload their goods. They also add to the traffic confusion, commuters observed.
On-duty traffic officers at Shahjahanpur told this correspondent that they are aware of the problem.
"The rickshaws and human hauliers stray into the left and block the path of vehicles going to the flyover. A lot of human hauliers also drop of passengers at the entry to the flyover and block the flow of traffic," said an on-duty sergeant.
The 2502-metre long Mohakhali flyover was inaugurated in 2005 to reduce traffic congestion in one of the city's busiest intersections.
While the flyover has been a boon to ease the traffic congestions in the nearby regions, the entry and exit points of the flyover still experience some amount of traffic congestion thanks to haphazard, irresponsible driving and parking attitudes.
"Cruising the flyover is a relaxing experience as it is virtually traffic free. But getting in the flyover specially from the Shahjahanpur intersection takes quite a bit of time," said Nazmul Ahsan, a resident of Bashabo. "Just the other day, it took more than an hour to reach home in Bashabo from Rajarbagh police lines.”
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