Guntur: Level crossing poses trouble to commuters

Guntur: Level crossing at Nehru Nagar, a major junction in Guntur city, has been leading to frequent traffic snarls and motorists seek construction of a flyover to overcome the problem.

The main railway lines, towards Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Chennai via Tenali, pass through the city. The level crossing at Nehru Nagar near Manipuram flyover is causing severe inconvenience to the public due to frequent closure of railway gate to allow passage of trains. 

This is the main road which connects all important areas in the city. Though situated in the middle of the city, it still does not have city buses plying through the area due to frequent closure of the railway gate.  

D. Santha Kumar, B. Lakshman, both residents of Nehru Nagar, said it is the main road  that leads to NTR bus station, Vijayawada, Tenali, Ponnur and other roads. The railway gate is closed nearly every half-an-hour. "We have been demanding flyover in this area for years but nothing has been done so far," they said, adding that nearly half of the population in the city is affected due to Nehru Nagar level crossing, through which 43 express/passenger trains and 50 goods trains pass through every day.

Employees P. Shanmukh and N. Krishna said APSRTC is operating 60 city buses and private operators 110 mini city buses in the city but not a single bus passes through Nehru Nagar due to the level crossing. "During medical emergencies, the patients will be losing the valuable golden hour waiting at the railway gate," they said.

Road expansion has been proposed at the railway gate at Kuglar Hospital in Nehru Nagar notices have also been issued for removal of concrete structures. The locals demanded that as road expansion has been proposed, flyover should be constructed near Manipuram for the convenience of the people.

They lamented there were no elected representatives to Guntur municipal corporation in the last few years as elections have not been held. It would be better if the Guntur East MLA, Guntur West MLA and Guntur MP take steps for the construction of the flyover, they said.