Rajasthan government had long constructed an underground passage for pedestrians to facilitate easy movement across Ajmeri Gate—one of the busiest roads in the pink city. Nevertheless, remaining unattended since long, the subway became a temporary shelter for Jaipur beggars. Now that the government is planning to relocate the beggars to government shelters, the government is likely to open the subway within 45 days. The JMC (Jaipur Municipal Corporation) officers were directed to vacate the subway in a traffic control meeting held earlier.
Besides this, the government will also reduce the size of traffic circles that obstruct the flow of traffic in major areas. The circles proposed for this development are:
- Shekhawati Circle at Chomu Crossroad,
- Parshuram Circle at Gopalbari near Jaipur Railway Station,
- Jyotiba Phule Circle at Bais Godam and
- Dhobi Ghat Circle, Lata Circle and Ambedkar circle.
Both JDA (Jaipur Development Authority) and JMC officials will prepare a detailed report after conducting examination of these circles.
According to a senior JDA engineer, all traffic circles follow the rules set by the India Roads Congress. The IRC states that if a circle receives over 3,000 vehicles per hours from all four directions, it needs to be developed as a proper junction with traffic lights installed on it. Vehicle count has a direct impact on the size of a circle. Therefore, the JDA/JMC officers will survey all circles to evaluate if they need to be reduced in size or removed altogether.
The development authority is already working on Sahakar circle project near Bais Godam circle. The circle is obstructing the construction of pillars for an elevated road. Therefore, with the consent from local authorities and surrounding communities, the government will relocate the statue inside the circle to a nearby island and reduce the size of this circle to accommodate dense traffic.
The JDA will invite tenders for pillar construction and relocation of statue—a process which is likely to start soon.
