Installation of traffic signals on Gaya streets deferred

GAYA: The plan for installation of about one dozen electronic signals for better traffic management on the streets of Gaya has been deferred.
The then divisional commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pal had mooted the idea and sadar SDO and DSP (traffic) were tasked with identifying the points where the signals were to be installed.
Asked whether the proposal has been shelved, Gaya district magistrate Abhishek Singh said the plan has only been deferred and not shelved.“Installation of traffic signals before the Pitrapaksha could upset the time-tested Pitrapaksha traffic management system. This is not the time for making any new experiment,” said Singh.
The Mela is scheduled to begin on September 12 and over 2.5 lakh pilgrims from different parts of the country and abroad are likely to perform ‘pindadaan’ rituals.
The traffic signal installation work will begin after the Pitrapaksha. Residents, however, said that installation of signals will not solve the traffic problem in Gaya. “Effective steps have to be taken to de-congest the town by relocating offices like the land registration office, SDO office and the wholesale market,” said activist Motibhai.
Facilities for a modern wholesale market complex have been developed by the World Bank on the western outskirts of the city. But the business community has thwarted every move to relocate the market. “A strong administrative will power is required to shift the wholesale market from Purani Godam to Chandauti complex,” said Rai Madan Kishore, retired special secretary, government of Bihar.