5 years on, Vasant Vihar residents hope to see an end to their nightmare

NEW DELHI: After years of battling traffic congestion, dust pollution and noise in their backyard, residents of Vasant Vihar and the surrounding areas are feeling relieved that the parallel Rao Tula Ram flyover will finally open on Tuesday.

“We are hopeful that this massive congestion at our doorstep will finally end. We estimate that 65% of the vehicles going towards Gurugram, IGI Airport and beyond will take the flyover and won’t enter our colony — a regular feature for the past five years,” said Gurpreet Bindra, the president of Vasant Vihar Residents’ Welfare Association.“Our colony roads such as Poorvi Marg, Vasant Marg and Paschimi Marg have become thoroughfares. I live on Palam Marg and its service road has been virtually turned into a highway.”
Suresh Goel, a former RWA president, alleged the use of Google Maps had made the matter worse. “During traffic congestions on Outer Ring Road, Google Maps shows the alternate route through the colony, turning our inner roads into national highways.”
The situation is not much better for residents of the neighbouring Basant Gaon. Kalyani Devi, who has been staying there for the past four years, said, “It has been a nightmare reaching home in the evening when the office traffic comes from Gurugram and gets stuck at the choke point near the Army Research and Referral Hospital.”
Some Vasant Vihar residents had opposed the flyover, adding to the delay in its construction. "Some residents on Palam Marg were worried that their privacy would be violated and sound pollution would increase. We are hoping that these apprehensions are not there now,” Goel said.
Bindra, however, claimed that the apprehensions were legitimate. “When the first flyover was built, the then RWA president had written to the lieutenant governor for a double-lane flyover. If some prominent citizens wrote to the chief minister that the service road be designed in a manner that ambulances and fire engines can enter the lanes, there was nothing wrong with it.”
The focus is now on further protecting the residential areas from the impact of the Indira Gandhi International Airport-bound traffic. “The polycarbonate sheets that they are installing as sound barriers are useless as these do not absorb more than 7-8% of the noise. Barriers developed by Central Road Research Institute absorb 35%. The government is looking into it,” Bindra said.
The authorities have agreed to keep heavy traffic off the service road and even cars will not be allowed to enter Outer Ring Road through it, the RWA said. "Green walls are also to be developed as a barrier,” Bindra said.
The RWA also wants more than one entry point to the area. Currently the only entrance is on Poorvi Marg. “We are hoping that other two entries will be reopened as we have 19 schools with 16,500 students, as well as 42 embassies,” Bindra added.