Unannounced diversions turn Gomtinagar streets chaotic

LUCKNOW Unannounced traffic diversions are leading to chaos on roads leading to Gomtinagar for the past three days. Due to construction work, barricades have been put up at the Gomtinagar end of the railway overbridge and around Patrakarpuram crossing.
As a result, thousands of commuters were caught unawares have to make sudden U-turns or ply in the wrong direction. While work on the PICUP building-RML hospital flyover has stalled traffic movement on the road from Gomtinagar to Polytechnic, repair work on the road leading to Husadia from Patrakarpuram is compelling motorists to ply in the wrong direction.
Lack of coordination between the traffic cell of Lucknow police, civic bodies and agencies executing the construction work has come to the fore yet again. There are no signboards or warning boards at either site to guide first time visitors on alternative routes.
“While Gomtinagar residents are aware of the routes in other localities, people coming from other parts of the city are badly hit. Relatives coming to meet us for Eid decided to head back to Saadatganj instead of visiting us,” said Faraz Ali, a resident of Vijay Khand I.
Ali’s relatives were among hundreds of commuters who plied all the way to Polytechnic and made a U-turn to reach Gomtinagar only to realize they had reached the same spot. At Patrakarpuram, instead of taking internal routes, commuters had to ply in the wrong direction. A big trench had been dug up at CMS Gomtinagar crossing just few days ago and had caused a lot of inconvenience to people. However, the families staying around the crossing used their clout and the trench was levelled on Monday.
SP traffic said the situation would improve from Friday.
“We would ask executing agencies to deploy a person or use signage to guide first-time road users here,” he added.