Cops propose single auto stand to unclog city

DOMBIVLI: To reduce congestion on the eastern side of Dombivli railway station, traffic officials have proposed a single autorickshaw stand to Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC).

Currently, multiple auto stands at the heavily-crowded station have aggravated the traffic woes.

The proposed centralised stand at Patkar Road near the skywalk has been inspired from the one at Thane railway station. The traffic department has coordinated with auto unions to prepare a white paper on the plan, which will be submitted to the civic body.

Stations near Dombivli have also been plagued by multiple traffic issues such as lack of traffic signals, narrow lanes, haphazard and parallel parking, and encroachment.

“There are multiple rickshaw stands at Dombivli (east) which leads to bottleneck traffic. We have thought about single autorickshaw stand for all areas across the city. The rickshaws

will have a dedicated lane and people would follow queue order to reduce traffic congestion to a large extent,” said Ravindra Wadekar, assistant commissioner of police (traffic).

There is one taxi stand and seven to eight rickshaw stands at Kelkar Road, Indira Gandhi Chowk, Nehru Road, Fateh Ali Road and Rajaji Path. Among these only one stand is legal while others have been illegally functioning for a long time.

“When it comes to providing better infrastructure to Dombivli residents, the corporation lacks conviction. Till now, all measures to unclog the area remain only on paper,” said Bhagwan Mallik, 49, a Manpada resident from Dombivli.

“The situation becomes worse during peak hours as it takes more than 45 minutes to ride through the area. Drivers park their rickshaws and vehicles at their whims and fancies. Little has changed in the last six years, thanks to inexorable apathy from authorities,” said Radhika Patil, 27, a Gandhi Chowk resident.

The traffic police and rickshaw unions are hopeful that the centralised auto stand will help unclog the western side of the station too and after discussion with the civic commissioner and officials work will be undertaken.