Signals keep motorists guessing at most junctions

The city, which is home to several historical monuments dating back to the 2nd century BC and witnesses thousands of tourists every year, has a plenty of infrastructure-related issues looming large over its head. While the pathetic condition of roads has been a major problem for long now, Aurangabad seems to have achieved another dubious distinctionmalfunctioning traffic signals.Located at busy squares and important junctions in the city, these signals are not only life-threatening to the citizens, but are also the main reason for the chaos, especially during peak traffic hours.
Activists and citizens, who have dubbed the traffic signals as a hazard rather than a safety measure, have flayed the local civic body as well as the traffic police for the lack of maintenance. While the authorities concerned have been spending large amounts of money on posters and other awareness measure during the ongoing road safety drive, they seem to have missed the sorry state of traffic signals that need their attention at the earliest.
ToI conducted a reality check at the important areas across the city and have found signals at various stages of functionality at the following squares and junctions.
Central Bus Stand
The traffic signal at this crowded square, which is near the exit of the Central bus stand, shows both the green and red lights simultaneously, leaving many stumped. While the vehicular traffic heading towards Mahaveer Chowk primarily suffers due to this glitch, sometimes the entire traffic movement gets disrupted completely. Hundreds of MSRTC buses along with other vehicles pass through this junction and eventually get tangled at the signal. Vehicle owners who regularly take this route said that they cannot trust the signal and have to rely upon their eye before proceeding forward.
Kranti Chowk
The traffic signal here has been dubbed as dangerous by many residents. It does not turn either green or red during traffic movement on three out of the four routesJalna Road to Mahaveer Chowk, Railway Station Road to Paithan Gate and Mahaveer Chowk to Jalna Road. Traffic cops manning the signal said that the lack of maintenance has made the road an accident-prone zone, as it observes heavy traffic throughout the day and night.
Sillekhana Chowk
The vehicular traffic heading towards Paithan Gate from Kranti Chowk have a tough time as the signal does not turn red in time. It often affects the vehicles heading towards the square from the Sillekhana area and Paithan Gate, besides posing a risk to the movement of pedestrians. According to the shop-keepers and locals, the square invariably witnesses mishaps, especially during the peak hours. The area houses some private hospitals and educational groups, making it one of the busiest areas of the city.
Savarkar Chowk
The area which houses educational institutions, popular eateries and hospitals among other establishments, has been plagued by a defunct traffic signal for the past many days. The lack of signal at Savarkar Chowk in Samarthanagar area has been throwing the traffic out of gear.
Gajanan Mandir Chowk & Jawahar Police Station Chowk
The traffic signals at these two squares in the Garkheda area have been non-operational for the past few weeks and are said to have vulnerable to serious maintenance issues. Traffic cops said the signal systems have been switched off due to the road-widening works in the area. “The signals have been out of action for the last one month and we are clueless about when it is going to start. Maintenance issues cannot be ruled out for many reasons including road-digging and accumulation of dust. Needless to say, managing traffic has become a harrowing experience for us,” a cop said.
Cidco Chowk
The yellow light is conspicuously absent in the traffic signal on Jalgaon Road near Cidco main office. Troubling the vehicle-goes, the signal abruptly turns red from green without a caution.
Digital counters off at
many signals
Digital counters which displays the countdown for change of light on the traffic signal was found non-functional at many places, causing inconvenience to the public. While the civic body has already paid extra cost for the signals fitted with these counters, their non-functional nature has drawn criticism from various circles.
No pedestrian signals
Aurangabad, which has recently been selected under the central government’s Smart City Scheme, does not have a single pedestrian signal, which poses serious life-threatening risks to the residents. Demand for installation of such signals at Gulmandi area, Aurangpura, CIDCO and Osmanapura among other areas have been made a long time ago.
Citizens’ Views
Criticising the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation as well as traffic police for poor management of traffic signals, activists and citizens have demanded stern action against errant officials who are responsible for the present situation.
General Secretary of Marathwada Janta Vikas Parishad Sharad Advant, said, “After roads, the non-operational traffic signals is another let down for the city.”
“It is unfortunate that neither the ruling parties nor administrators are willing to take note of the sorry state of the traffic signals. Those responsible for this must be punished,” he said.
College principal Satish Surana, said, “The tourism capital of the state should maintain its traffic signals.”
“It is a matter of shame for the entire country that a city like Aurangabad does not have proper roads and traffic signals,” he said.
AMC’s electrical department in-charge K D Deshmukh could not be reached for his comments despite repeated attempts to contact him.
AMC chief promises
action
Aurangabad municipal commissioner, Omprakash Bakoria said that maintenance issues of traffic signals will be resolved beginning from next week.
“We have sourced necessary spare-parts from Pune and the maintenance is scheduled to start from the coming week. Around half a dozen signals in the city have been identified for immediate attention,” he said.
Stating that issues related to floating maintenance contract had caused delay in repair of traffic signals, Bakoria said that the civic body has now decided to undertake necessary work in-house.
“The electric department and other departments would carry out maintenance work of traffic signals in future. It would save public money and also ensure quick steps,” he said.
“Our appeals fall on deaf ears”
Reacting on the sorry state of traffic signals, assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Champalal Shevgan said that his department keeps apprising local civic body about the issue on a regular basis. “We are only supposed to man the signals and do not possess powers to address the maintenance issues. The ground staffers regularly share feedback about traffic signals with control room authorities, who then share their inputs with the AMC,” he said. Shevgan admitted that traffic signals marred with technical snags pose potential threat to life. “The issues need to be addressed on a priority basis. At our level, we will again undertake the necessary review trough field visits and talk to the civic authorities again,” he added.
The city, although has already been selected by the centre for the Smart City Project, it has a long way to go before it becomes one.