PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The State government has decided to shift the Niranjanpur Sabzi Mandi of the provisional State capital Dehradun. A directive in this regard was given by the chief secretary Anand Bardhan to the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) in a meeting on Dehradun mobility plan held at the secretariat on Saturday.
In the meeting, the CS emphasised that new steps must be taken consistently to reduce traffic congestion in Dehradun. He also directed that the reconstruction of the Arhat Bazaar should start and a government order for it should be issued by January 20. The CS asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to issue a government order by January 15 for the improvement of six traffic junctions in the city.
The CS expressed concern over the lack of 100 per cent utilisation of parking lots in major crowded areas of the city. He said the on-road parking plan being implemented by the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun should be extended to other routes as well, so that people are encouraged to park their vehicles in the parking lots.
He directed the Transport Department to register the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for traffic management in December and said that the first board meeting should be held in January. He also directed that the parking lot being constructed for large seized vehicles in Asharodi should be made operational.
The CS also called for ground-truthing of new parking spaces identified under the mobility plan prepared by the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA). He said that if these spaces are found suitable, parking spaces should be prepared there. He said that a feasibility test of underground parking at the Parade Ground should also be conducted soon. The CS directed that wires hanging from poles throughout the city should be removed and said that roads should be repaired immediately after the underground electricity cable work gets completed.
Principal secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, additional secretary Ahmed Iqbal, Vineet Kumar, MDDA VC Banshidhar Tiwari, Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh and others attended the meeting.
