The Tata Steel general office gate in Bistupur, where the signal will be installed

Jamshedpur, May 4: A new traffic signal would soon be put up near the Tata Steel general office gate on Bistupur-Sakchi Main Road.

Expressing concern about the heavy movement of vehicles on Sakchi-Bistupur Road during peak hours, Tata Steel’s security department has written a letter to East Singhbum deputy commissioner, Ravindra Kumar Agarwal, requesting him to take the initiative to set up the much-needed traffic signal at the spot. The request letter is under active consideration of the district administration.

Superintendent of police (city) Jatin Narwal confirmed that the district administration had received the letter from Tata Steel, and said the administration was going to take a decision on the proposal soon.

According to Narwal, cars of all top executives of the steel major use the general office gate. The scene becomes particularly chaotic when the cars are forced to stop to make way for trucks and trailers, which hit the road once the no-entry restrictions are lifted.

Narwal said the Tata Steel security department’s request for a traffic signal was quite valid, and the traffic snarl in front of the general office gate not only triggered a serious law and order situation, but also posed a risk of serious road mishaps.

The problems begin once the entry restrictions are lifted at around 2pm and a large number of trucks and trailers, carrying industrial goods, start plying on the stretch.

The Sakchi-Bistupur Road is known to be an accident-prone stretch and on an average at least three persons die in accidents on the road every year, especially near the general office crossing.

Sources in the district administration revealed that a team of officials belonging to the traffic police and district administration is at present carrying out a survey to set up the proposed traffic signal. The team is also studying whether a traffic signal is a viable idea at the spot.

There are already two traffic signals in Bistupur, one at the N-Road crossing on Bistupur Main Road, and another near the Beldih Church School crossing.