Nashik mayor seeks home guards to ease traffic snarls

Nashik: Mayor Himgauri Aaher has urged the police administration to deploy home guards across key junctions and congestion-prone stretches to tackle growing traffic chaos triggered by ongoing infrastructure works ahead of the Kumbh Mela.

In a representation submitted to the commissioner of police, the mayor called for immediate strengthening of on-ground traffic regulation.

The city is currently witnessing extensive road repairs, flyover construction and other infrastructure upgrades, many of them linked to Kumbh-related preparations. These works have led to multiple diversions and temporary closures on arterial as well as internal roads, resulting in heavy traffic snarls during peak hours. Daily commuters are facing increasing delays and inconvenience.

In her letter, Aaher pointed out that while traffic wardens have been deployed by contractors at select project sites, several busy intersections and stretches lack adequate manpower to manage vehicular flow effectively. The mayor further stressed that the existing arrangements are insufficient given the scale of disruptions across the city.

The mayor has demanded that available home guard personnel be pressed into service immediately to assist the traffic police. She suggested their deployment at major chowks, signal points, diversion routes and other bottlenecks where congestion has intensified due to ongoing works.

Highlighting the urgency of the situation, she said timely intervention would help streamline traffic movement and prevent further deterioration in commuting conditions. She also emphasised the need for coordinated efforts between civic authorities and the police to handle the surge in vehicular load during the pre-Kumbh phase.

Calling for prompt action, mayor Aaher expressed hopes that additional manpower support would not only ease congestion but also improve safety and traffic discipline across the city, ensuring smoother movement for residents amid large-scale infrastructure activity.

The public works department of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started work on 28 major roads in view of the upcoming Simhastha Kumbh Mela. The road projects are estimated to cost Rs1,270 crore. Around half of the roads will be developed using concrete, while the others will be asphalted, with widening planned wherever feasible.

The work to create utility ducts for seven services — including water supply, drainage lines, optical fibre cables and piped natural gas — has been completed on some stretches, while it is still ongoing on others.

The works on nearly 120 km of these 28 major roads across the city have affected vehicular movement due to diversions, leading to severe traffic congestion, particularly during peak hours. In view of this, Nashik mayor Himgauri Aher-Adke has urged the police administration to deploy home guards to monitor and manage traffic on these roads.