Traffic gridlock at Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam
Gajuwaka area in Vizag city has emerged as a nightmare for motorists for the past few years.
Visakhapatnam: Though Gajuwaka area in Vizag city has emerged as a nightmare for motorists for the past few years, not a single review meeting was held so far to address the issue and mitigate the traffic chaos. With a number of commercial establishments, cinema halls and others doing business at Gajuwaka and cellars and footpaths also occupied for trade, motorists are left without parking space and pedestrians have to jostle for space with vehicles on the footpath.
The roads that connect Old Gajuwaka-New Gajuwaka, New Gajuwaka-Kaniti and the Old Gajuwka Junction during the peak traffic hours are a nightmare for motorists and pedestrians alike. The roads in Gajuwaka area were widened around 15 years back and now most of the roads are chocked with vehicles and pushcart vendors. There is always commotion at Old Gajuwaka, New Gajuwaka and Kaniti roads because there is no proper traffic management and violations by motor-ists as well as management of the commercial establishments, says K. Rahul Kumar, a resident of Gajuwaka and an employee in a private firm.
Around a decade back, there were very few commercial establishments, cinema halls, and educational institutions in Gajuwaka. But, now the Old Gajuwaka and New Gajuwka areas emerged as a hub of business establishments besides hotels. “We can’t park the vehicles either on road or in the cellars because the commercial shops don’t have cellar parking,” said motorist Ganesh Gorle.
It is very unfortunate that the traffic police have not conducted any review meeting to find solutions for the traffic congestion in Gajuwka. If some markets in Gajuwka are shifted to other places, there will be free flow of traffic, said Gajuwaka MLA P. Srinivas Rao.