CHANDIGARH CALLING : TRAFFIC CHAOS MANAGEMENT

Everyday one reads about the traffic jams and chaos on the Chandigarh roads in newspapers. Chandigarh because of its geographical situation is the gateway to Himachal, Haryana and UP on the Panchkula side, to Ambala, Delhi, Patiala on the Zirakpur side, Punjab, Himachal on the Kharar side and Baddi, Bilaspur in Himachal and Ropar in Punjab on the upcoming Mullanpur side.This urban conglomerate is going to swell to more than 3 million by 2030. It is time the planners start having a vision 2050 for the city and its surroundings encompassing Ropar, Samrala, Baddi, Kalka Pinjore complex, Barwala, Dera Bassi and Rajpura if it has to grow like a well planned comfortable international class urban conglomerate through these years. The blue print should have provisions of MRTS ( Mass Rapid Transport System ) with properly chalked out route plans amidst urban planning of more satellite towns with proper residential, healthcare and education infrastructure. Let these towns not grow like Zirakpur with utter disregard to its own planning and like Zirakpur and Panchkula with little regard to connectivity with Chandigarh for all life activity in these surrounding townships is going to evolve around Chandigarh only.  

Panchkula and Zirakpur demand special attention because they have developed into very large residential hubs and traffic on two national highways and two state highways has to pass through these towns leading to absolute traffic chaos and miseries for both ,the residents and highway users. Chandigarh Panchkula connectivity cannot be hassle free until and unless we have minimum of four connecting roads and a separate elevated carriageway bypassing Panchkula, Manimajra and Chandimandir leading to Haryana, Himachal and other states. Similarly Zirakpur also should have elevated bypasses leading to all national and state highways.
For Chandigarh the solution to traffic problems has to dwell on underground metro and underpasses at all major road intersections keeping in line with the heritage design concepts of town planning and architecture.The metro must touch airport, railway station and bus stand for the convenience of all travellers as is the practice everywhere on this globe. In fact it will be desirable to have airport connectivity with long distance train route also. If our planners do not wake up to the likely ground reality three decades hence this urban conglomerate will be no different to the present chaotic metros.