A chock-a-block Station roundabout. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

The new Patna traffic superintendent of police (SP), Chandrika Prasad, has an array of proposals for the government to ease the snarls that choke capital roads everyday. Experts, however, believe vehicular movement can improve only if the government seriously thinks about training police and commuters in traffic management.

Prasad’s proposal to widen the roads around the Income Tax (I-T) roundabout, which is prone to snarls, has been sent to the district administration. The officer told The Telegraph that a solution to the problems related to the other roundabouts of the state capital was also being planned.

“A proposal regarding the I-T roundabout has been sent. Now we will concentrate on the Station roundabout. We will visit the area for inspection on Thursday evening. The probable solution will be of a different nature there. A decision can be taken only after examining the problem first. The roundabouts in Patna are big and it is an advantage for us, as we have the scope to make possible changes. The situation at the Patna station is complex and we will have to think of a different solution,” Prasad said.

However, experts believe planning without any proper training is an useless affair.

“Traffic management is an art and requires proper training. In Patna, no one has been trained for traffic management, including the SP and the district magistrate. During my tenure with the state government, I had suggested a proper training module many a times but no one paid heed to it. People here have no clue about so many things regarding traffic and neither are the authorities doing anything to enforce the rules. Widening roads and other such plans won’t help unless people are trained,” said R.S. Chaudhary, the former chief town planner of the urban development department. Chaudhary cited an example to justify his point.

“When the Income Tax roundabout was being made, on orders from a few politicians, the central public works department decided to construct high walls around the roundabout instead of grilles. The next day, a relative of a politician met with an accident at the spot. The reason was, the commuter could not see what was coming from the other side because of the wall. Even now, the roundabout has a small wall and grilles. This is a simple example of lack of basic training and expertise,” Chaudhary added.

He also said many wrong decisions were taken regarding traffic planning.

“The zebra crossings were made and they disappeared. People here don’t know what a zebra crossing is. A few police personnel too don’t about it. If they knew, why aren’t motorists penalised for jumping signals? The cops standing on traffic outposts have no clue how to manage the traffic,” he added.

The SP, however, said things would take shape soon. “There are many issues to be looked into. Things will take shape in time. At present, we are looking at all the aspects. The proposal to bring out a subway from the Patna Junction will be sent. The auto-rickshaws are a serious problem, as many are plying wherever they want without permits,” Prasad said.