NEW DELHI: For
commuters coming from
Mathura Road and destined towards
Okhla in south Delhi, travelling through the
Sarita Vihar underpass has become nothing short of a nightmare due to waterlogging and poor condition of the road. This has led to
one lane of this important traffic point being
closed for
repairs.
Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which had built the underpass, is carrying out repair work and also trying to get the accumulated rainwater out of the underpass.
The arterial stretch has become a chokepoint, ending in extremely slow-moving traffic, particularly during peak hours.
The bad news is that the nightmare for commuters going towards Okhla and Ma Anandmayee Marg would continue for at least a week. People have been urged not to use the stretch to travel towards Okhla or Tughlaqabad.
“The maintenance work of the cross drain is on. Some waterlogging was observed on August 9 and it was cleared the same day. Currently, there is no waterlogging. Since maintenance work is going on, we have closed one lane in coordination with traffic police for the safety of the public. The work is likely to be completed within a week,” a senior DDA official said.
A major infrastructure project constructed by DDA and Indian Railways, the Rs 260 crore Sarita Vihar
underpass was opened in 2015 after missing several deadlines. However, it has been unable to serve to its full potential. The kilometre-long underpass connects Noida with Okhla, thereby reducing commuting time between Noida, Sarita Vihar, Okhla and other nearby areas.
The condition of the road in the underpass has never been very good and waterlogging has been a perennial problem since it was opened to the public. DDA has been unable to find a permanent solution to waterlogging, which is also a reason for the road surface getting damaged frequently.
Though the underpass has cut down the distance between Noida and Okhla from 9km to just 1km, and travelling time from 45 minutes to 10 minutes, traffic problems persist in the entire area due to lack of holistic planning. As one travels further south towards Kalkaji and Govindpuri, the road keeps getting narrower.