Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday said that the traffic personnel instead of properly controlling traffic are mostly on the phone when they are on duty, while hearing a PIL filed about traffic congestion near Kalbadevi, Cheera Bazar and Crawford Market.
The court also said that the street from South Mumbai where the Mumbai police commissioner’s office is located is the only street in the city where the traffic is disciplined as well as vehicles in terms of parking.
The court further directed the city traffic department to list down the steps it proposes to take in order to curb traffic congestion in the crowded market areas in Mumbai.
A division bench of justice Naresh Patil and N.W. Sambre was hearing PIL filed pertaining to traffic congestion near Kalbadevi, Cheera Bazar and Crawford Market. The petition said that vehicles are being parked on both the sides of road and the traffic is poorly managed by the traffic department.
The public prosecutor put forth arrangement done by them on the said roads but the court expressed its disappointment and said providing two constables will not be sufficient to handle the traffic.
The court also observed that there are hardly any footpaths for pedestrians to walk.
The court said that the traffic department must consider introducing measures like marking some days in a week as “no vehicle” days, and imposing steep parking rates in crowded market areas to deter the use of private vehicles in such areas.
It also directed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) be made a respondent in the case so that the civic body, too, could pitch in with its own suggestions on the issue. The court kept the matter on February 16 for further hearing.
