Traffic Anguishes Over Palam Flyover

The Dwarka flyover over Palam village in Delhi is a vital link in getting in and out of Dwarka. This flyover, constructed in 2008, is around 4.5 kms long and crosses the Palam village and the railway tracks beneath it. The flyover came up as a succor to residents of Dwarka, who used to get stuck at railway crossing for hours and reduced the crossing time from around 40 minutes, mainly due to the level crossing, to around 6 minutes. However, now over time, the Dwarka flyover has become a nightmare for the commuters especially those commuting from Uttam Nagar, Dwarka, Matiala, Najafgarh and Palam. The traffic and vehicle  population have increased, and during peak hours, sometimes it takes more than one hour to cross the Palam flyover. This flyover road is the only road which connects Dwarka with Delhi. The traffic jam due to the bus stop over Palam railway station creates bottlenecks and traffic jams also. The S-shaped designs with speed breakers also cause disruption in traffic flow, and also a cause of accidents. Says Nishant Goel, “Hundreds of office goers like me are frustrated who traverse the city for over 30 kms taking different routes to reach home early by 5 minutes or 10 minutes and find themselves stuck on the flyover just before home for over 60 minutes. The flyover remains jam packed in the evening and there is utter chaos.” Arun Jain informs, “Traffic jams have become a daily routine over Dwarka Palam flyover. There is honking and more honking and then a long wait. It is frustrating. We are clueless as to whom we should complain about this. Every person in Dwarka is facing traffic jams in the morning and evening. If more society will come up then this problem will become huge so it is imperative to find new route and road to get out of Dwarka.”  Deepak Shah says, “If there is breakdown of one vehicle on the flyover, the whole traffic is affected. The spillover effect is too terrific and the traffic jam continues for hours. Another road needs to be made soon.” This issue was also raised in Delhi Assembly by Matiala MLA, Gulab Singh. He emphasized that due to narrow flyovers, commuters feel harassed as it takes them more than an hour to cross flyovers. The flyover doesn’t have capacity to cater to increasing vehicle population in Dwarka and nearby areas. He urged the Speaker and the PWD minister along with officials to visit the site and assess the situation. Gulab Singh also proposed to consider making a tunnel road or an alternate road, which can lead traffic from Dwarka to main Delhi, thus reducing the load on Palam flyover.