Flights Of Fantasy
[ M Panging Pao ]
Today, many towns of Arunachal are experiencing traffic jams, especially during peak hours. However, traffic jams are longest and most prevalent in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR), consisting of Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli, Yupia, and Doimukh. During peak hours, traffic jams are kilometres long and last for many hours with traffic crawling along bumper to bumper. Occasionally, it takes 2-3 hours to a travel few kilometres in the ICR.
Despite the four-lane road from Itanagar to Papu Nallah, long traffic jams are caused by a few bottlenecks in the Papu Nallah, Yupia junction area. Traffic jams are also caused by haphazard parking and unruly drivers who violate driving discipline. Long traffic jams lead to being late for office, missing important meetings, missing medical appointments, missing flights/trains, etc. Traffic jams lead to more pollution, longer travel times, loss of man hours and frayed tempers/road rage cases. In a few cases, traffic jams prevent emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire tenders from reaching the incident sites on time.
Many officials and public travelling to and from the ICR experience the agony of these harrowing traffic jams and carry back the bad experience. Many visitors avoid travelling to Itanagar area due to the chaotic traffic jams. Tourists might also avoid travelling to Itanagar for the same reason. Therefore, these traffic jams need to be resolved at the earliest.
Most traffic jams in our towns could be avoided by constructing a few flyovers and underpasses to bypass congested areas. A few strategically placed flyovers and underpasses would ease traffic jams to a very large extent. A flyover from short of Naharlagun town to Papu Nallah would bypass the congested Naharlagun township. Similarly, a flyover from Bank Tinali to Chandannagar in Itanagar would bypass the congested Ganga market Presently there are no flyovers in the state. Similarly, an underpass or flyover is needed at the Papu Nallah-Yupia junction, which is a major bottleneck restricting traffic movement in all directions. The Trans-Arunachal Highway from Papu Nallah to Yupia and beyond is also in bad shape, adding to the traffic jams.
It may also be the right time to start planning for metro rail transport systems or sky rails in the ICR. Metro systems are not only better and more efficient commuting systems, they could also double up as underground shelters during future enemy aerial attacks and during nuclear, or chemical warfare. Metro rail transport systems would ease traffic jams and reduce travel time between places.
Traffic jams occur in many towns and cities. However, most are constructing flyovers and underpasses to bypass towns/cities and traffic congested areas. Similarly many towns/cities are constructing metro rail transport systems. Isn’t it time for ICR also to construct flyovers and metros? We must realise that long hours spent on the roads stuck in traffic jams are totally unproductive. Time to resolve these traffic jams in the ICR. Do you agree? (The contributor is retired Group Captain, Indian Air Force)
