Hartali Mor intersection on Bailey Road closed for traffic

PATNA: The Hartali Mor intersection on Bailey Road has been closed for vehicles moving between Boring Canal Road and Serpentine Road and vice versa from Friday.
The vehicles coming from Boring Canal Road and Serpentine Road will now use U-turns made in front of Bihar Museum and Vishveshwarya Bhawan. With the implementation of the new system, vehicles can now move uninterrupted on the Bailey Road stretch between Sardar Patel Bhawan and Patna high court Mor.
Speaking on the occasion, Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor said: “The vehicles will now follow a continuous traffic system at Hartali Mor.Such steps are being taken to ease traffic congestion in the city. The U-turns will eventually reduce traffic snarls as there will be no traffic signals between Sardar Patel Bhawan and Bihar Museum.”
Kishor said the intersection near Patna high court is also likely to be blocked in similar manner. “We are studying the feasibility of blocking the intersection near high court and making an arrangement like the one at Hartali Mor. It will be done only after the study,” he said.
Kishor, along with road construction department principal secretary Amrit Lal Meena, visited the crossing on Bailey Road in front of new secretariat and instructed the officials concerned to widen the secretariat road by demolishing the gate towards Suchna Bhawan.
Commuters are also expecting respite from traffic snarls at Hartali Mor. “It took at least 15-20 minutes every time I used to cross Hartali Mor. I hope some relief from long traffic hours on Bailey Road from Saturday,” said Amish Kumar from Saguna Mor area.
Pedestrians were, however, not very pleased with the new arrangements. “The U-turns may reduce traffic snarls, but pedestrians will face difficulties while crossing the roads,” said Satya Narayan Mahto. Kishor, however said footpaths will soon be built on Bailey Road for the convenience of pedestrians.
The district authorities have also taken measures like installation of digital countdown timers at traffic signals on New Dak Bungalow Road, Kotwali and Dak Bungalow crossings.
Traffic SP D Amarkesh said, “We have hired a private agency for installing digital timers at traffic signals. There are many more crossings and intersections in the city, like Exhibition Road and Gandhi Maidan, where digital timers will be installed.”
‘One-way traffic on 2 roads in a week’: Kishor had claimed on Thursday that two roads connecting Ashok Rajpath-Makhaniya Kuan and Gobind Mitra Road will be made one-way from Friday. However, the new traffic system was not seen in effect on Friday. DM Kumar Ravi said one-way traffic system at Makhaniya Kuan and Gobind Mitra Road will be implemented in a week. “We are at present focusing on the prime areas, including Bailey Road, Boring Road, Kankarbagh Old Bypass Road and Fraser Road. After the closure of Hartali Mor intersection, we will focus on no-parking and parking areas in the city,” he said.
Smart parking facility near Patna Junction: Kishor inspected the erstwhile wholesale milk market near Patna Junction on Friday and instructed the agency concerned to prepare a detailed project report for developing a smart parking-cum-smart public utilities centre there. The divisional commissioner said a smart passenger complex, smart parking and several other public utilities will be developed at the site under Smart City projects.