EVALUATION OF INDIAN ROAD CONDITIONS

6 FATAL MISHAPS EVERY KM
Ma Anandmayee Marg figures in the list of 10 most accident prone roads in Delhi. It saw 34 fatal mishaps in 2008. Times City drove down the busy 5.6km-long stretch with an expert to find out reasons behind accidents
Megha Suri | TNN

In this article the deplorable conditions for a particular road is described but more in general it can be used for almost all non- highway roads.

Abusy thoroughfare in south Delhi, Ma Anandmayee Marg has earned the dubious distinction of being a killer stretch, recording six deaths per kilometre in 2008. Figuring in the list of 10 most accident-prone roads in Delhi in 2008, it is the deadliest stretch that witnessed 34 fatal accidents last year. Bound by MB Road on one side and Outer Ring Road on the other, the 5.6km-long road leads up to Okhla Industrial Area and connects to Faridabad. Times City drove down the ‘‘killer’’ road on Wednesday and found that almost everything is out of shape — non-functional traffic signals, encroached footpaths, potholes, haphazard construction activity and absent road markings.
Traffic expert and president of Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) Rohit Baluja accompanied this correspondent to point out what makes the road stretch so perilous. ‘‘We are reaching a stage of congested failure and the main reason for this is the absence of standard procedures within agencies like MCD, PWD and DDA. There is no coordination between agencies either while planning or maintaining roads. Like on this stretch, the bus stops, Metro construction, road and street furniture, everything has been planned in isolation,’’ he said.
Here’s what’s not in order:
SIGNALS NOT WORKING
Six out of the 10 traffic signals on the stretch were not working, and even at crossings like the one near the Govindpuri market, where the signal was functional, it was not visible from a distance due to thick foliage and presence of light poles in front of the signal pole. At another intersection in Okhla, the secondary signal — the one on the other side of the crossing — was missing so vehicles which had stopped beyond the first signal are left with no option but to jump it.
INACCESSIBLE BUS SHELTERS
Critical bus shelters like the one opposite ESI Hospital and Okhla Phase II are in a shambles with missing roofs. The shelters have been constructed on concrete platforms which are several feet high, making them impossible to access. A bus shelter opposite the Govindpuri market was flooded with water and all the pedestrians had to stand on the main road to wait for buses.
NO SPACE FOR PEDESTRIANS

HAPHAZARD CONSTRUCTION
Despite the fact that the stretch sees very heavy pedestrian movement, there’s no footpath. This also reinforces why more than half the victims of road accidents in the city are pedestrians. At places like Okhla, the footpaths have been dug up. The situation is even worse near Indira Kalyan Vihar where all inhabitants of a slum cluster come out and defecate on the footpath. Near the local Govindpuri market, the footpath has been dug up forcing people to walk on the main road.
UNAUTHORISED PARKING
A market, bus terminus, busy industrial area and the Inland Container Depot are located next to the main road. This means that private vehicles and car mechanics near the Govindpuri market, chartered buses waiting to pick up staff from Okhla or big container trailer trucks waiting on the backside of the Tughlaqabad ICD occupy most of the extreme left lane meant for buses. As a result, there is rampant violation of SC orders as buses can be seen driving outside the bus lane and stopping at will.
BAD STATE OF ROAD
The road is in a pathetic condition and regular users say that accidents happen at an alarming frequency. At one of the main intersections, right next to a Delhi Jal Board pumping station, tankers move in and out splashing water all over the road. The surface has completely got eroded and traffic jams have become a regular feature on the stretch.
Part of the road between Kalkaji Mandir and the DTC depot at Okhla has been taken over by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for construction of the Badarpur line. Unlike the rest of the city, here the Metro barricades are missing and construction waste has been carelessly stacked in the middle of the road. At places, construction sites have been left unguarded as barricades abruptly start and end, or taper.
NO CYCLE TRACKS

In complete contrast to the pilot Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor where the government fought for cycle tracks for just a handful of cyclists, scores of cycle riders use Ma Anandmayee Marg on a daily basis to reach their workplaces in Okhla Industrial Area. Even though a cycle track runs along the main road through the stretch on paper, in places it is dug up or converted into a garbage dump or used as an unauthorised parking lot.

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