Traffic U-turn trial backfires, cops reopen Ingraham cut after snarls

Ghaziabad: Traffic police’s latest experiment to ease congestion came under scrutiny after a trial on Sunday triggered snarls at Hapur Chungi, one of the busiest and most congested roundabouts in the city.As part of its decongestion plan, the municipal corporation and traffic department had closed a cut near Ingraham School before Hapur Chungi and opened a U-turn 200 metres away for traffic heading towards Kavi Nagar from Meerut Tiraha and RDC. But cement barriers installed at the spot constricted the space for commuters to manoeuvre while turning, resulting in a tailback that quickly choked the entire stretch even though traffic is light on Sundays.On Monday, police reopened the Ingraham cut ahead of the morning rush hour and removed the barricades at the new U-turn to widen the turning space.Raghu Kumar, a commuter, adding that the narrow space forced drivers to reverse before completing the U-turn. “It’s good the decision was rolled back today. Otherwise, the area flanked by police headquarters, Collectorate, passport offices, and other central and state govt offices would have been completely jammed on Monday,” he said.

Traffic heading toward Hapur or bypassing NH-9/DME converges at the intersection, causing bottlenecks that ripple across old city townships, Kavi Nagar and Raj Nagar Extension during peak hours.A few commuters alleged the Ingraham cut had been shut to benefit the district magistrate, the police commissioner and other senior officials whose residences lie on the other carriageway. Officials, however, usually use the service lane to reach their homes, commuters said, questioning the logic behind the arrangement.DCP (traffic) Trigun Bisen said the objective was to ensure uninterrupted traffic flow so commuters could save time. “The municipal corporation had built a very large U-turn, which has now been reduced in size. The cut near Ingraham School has also been reopened for public use. It is currently being tested, and we will assess the results,” he said.Meanwhile, the UP Bridge Corporation is set to construct a 1.2km flyover from Hapur Chungi to the police lines in Govindpuram, part of a broader plan to decongest the node.