Illegal parking of trucks on Marine Drive irks motorists in Jamshedpur

JAMSHEDPUR: The illegal parking of trucks, tippers and trailers between Dumohini and XLRI roundabout, a stretch of 3km, on the Marine Drive in Jamshedpur is a nightmare for the users of this high-speed corridor.
The 11-km long Marine Drive connecting Sakchi with Gamharia toll bridge was constructed to bypass the city traffic, including heavy vehicles ferrying consignments to and from the industries located in the city and the Adityapur industrial belt.Before the corridor was constructed, vehicles crossing through National Highway-33 via Mango and heading towards Adityapur had to enter the city limits, which caused traffic snarls and accidents.

The illegal parking on Marine Drive has nullified the idea behind building this road, said Mango area resident Mohd Karim, one of the thousands of workers who take the route to reach their factories located in Adityapur industrial belt. “The long queue of trucks parked on the road makes driving difficult and dangerous. I have been lucky to not ram into a stationary truck, when a bus or SUV overtook my two-wheeler,” he lamented.
Many fatal accidents have taken place on the stretch which does not have a CCTV camera or a speed gun. Rash driving adds to the woes of the motorists. Incidents of speeding vehicles breaking the side barriers of the road and rammed into the houses in the slums nearby, injuring several people, have been reported.
Bus driver Birender Singh pointed out that after dark, the road becomes more dangerous for motorists due to the stationary trucks as visibility dips, increasing the possibility of making mistakes, which may result in accidents.
Most of the inter-state buses from the city to Bihar, Utaar Pradesh, West Bengal, and other districts of Jharkhand use this road to reach the Dobo bridge, which connects them to the NH-33. Over 2,000 inter-state buses from Bhuiyandih bus terminus take this stretch daily, he added.
Truck driver Sonu Singh said they are forced to park the vehicles here as there is no alternative spot. Often they have to wait for hours before getting clearance to enter factory premises to unload consignment. The administration or factory owners should allot free parking zones for the trucks, he stated.
Speaking to TOI, district transport officer Dinesh Ranjan said, “Those parking illegally on the road will be fined. Earlier too, special drives have been conducted late night to ensure that no illegal parking is done on Marine Drive.”