Dehradun, December 27
Traffic chaos, choc-a-block roads and increasing accidents have become a routine affair in the state capital these days.

With rising traffic and the state government’s inability to come up with a concrete plan to ease congestion, commuters have to struggle a lot to cope up with the frequent jams.

According to data, in the last financial year (2007-08) as many as 7,600 cars were registered with the Dehradun Regional Transport Office (RTO), and over 4,000 cars have already been registered with the RTO in the current fiscal year.

From April 1, 2008, to August 31, 2008, 11,381 new vehicles have been registered, which implies that city roads get around 2,000 more vehicles (four, three and two-wheelers) every month.

“So far, the government has not chalked out any comprehensive strategy for traffic management. There is an urgent need for systematic and futuristic planning for creating physical infrastructure, including flyovers, bridges, sub-ways, railway over bridges and better road connectivity in order to ease out traffic congestion in Dehradun,” said Rajiv Malhotra, a commuter.

A visit to different areas in the city, including Rajpur Road, Prince Chowk, Clock Tower, Saharanpur Chowk, DAV College Road, Chakrata Road, Darshanlal Chowk, Tehsil Chowk, Parade Ground Chowk etc revealed that commuters are a harried lot due to frequent traffic jams.

“Although traffic cops regulate vehicle flow at busy intersections, a lot still needs to be done,” opined a majority of the commuters.

Since a number of schools are located on the main city roads, traffic snarls are maximum during their opening and closing timings.

During the evening hours, one can spot huge traffic jams at various intersections on Rajpur Road.

The worst affected is the Clock Tower roundabout, which leads to Paltan Bazaar and Chakrata Road.

“It is high time that traffic cops find some viable solution to the problem,” said Satish Grover, a college student.

Another commuter, Neha Juyal, said one of the main reasons behind the traffic chaos is lack of parking spaces in the city.

She added that roadside encroachments by street vendors and shopkeepers also hamper the smooth flow of traffic.

Due to the “nonchalant” attitude of Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), traffic problem on busy Chakrata Road has also gone from bad to worse.

Since it is a very narrow road, commuters can be seen jostling with each other, which often leads to minor accidents.

“The narrow road (18-metre) is the root cause of the traffic problem on Chakrata Road. It is shocking that during the past seven years, the MDDA had proposed to widen the road a number of times, but nothing concrete has been done so far,” rued Rajesh Goyal, secretary of Chakrata Road Onkar Road Kalyan Samiti.

NA Bharne, who has recently taken charge of SP (Traffic), Dehradun, admitted that the traffic situation in the city is a cause of concern.

“Traffic regulation in Dehradun is a great challenge. With the number of vehicles on the rise, there is a need to have better physical infrastructure, including flyovers, sub-ways and railway overbridges in place,” he said.

As far as traffic police is concerned, Bharne said, “Earlier there were just 80 posts for traffic cops but now that has been increased to 200. Currently, 180 posts are filled and the vacant posts would also be filled in the coming days. Besides increasing the strength of the traffic cops, CCTVs would be installed at busy traffic intersections and proposal for installation of reverse digital traffic lights has also been approved.”

Three flying squads have been constituted for towing away wrongly-parked vehicles and roadside rehris, he added.

“The challan drive has been intensified and strict instructions have been given to cops to ensure that whosoever violates traffic rules are challaned,” Bharne added.

He said in days to come, traffic police would also organise seminars to spread awareness about the rules among the general public.

Bharne opined that widening of roads is also being mooted and District Magistrate Amit Singh Negi would convene a meeting with officials of the police department on Monday to discuss the same.

Dehradun, December 27
Fast-paced lifestyles coupled with high intake of calories and consequent risk of heart ailments, has forced a large number of people here to buy fitness equipment to maintain their health without stepping out of the comforts of their houses.

This is in addition to the 84 gymnasiums that fitness freaks from the city visit regularly. “In addition to new buyers, people who are regular to gym-goers are also buying equipment for their homes. I started my business here in 2002 and have observed a sea-change in peoples’ attitude today. Everyone wants to look attractive and smart,” said Himashu Sahni of fitness systems. Diseases like high blood-pressure, diabetes, arthritis and obesity are on the rise these days; therefore a large number of people are either rushing to gyms or buying equipment to exercise at home. “People from every strata of society are my clients and mostly those above the age of 40 are buying such equipment,” added Sahni.

He said treadmills, electrical equipment like cross trainers and bicycles are among the top favorites among people.

“Because I have busy schedule, I bought a treadmill to stay fit and healthy from my house itself,” said Rajesh Kapoor, a lawyer. “Because I wanted an overall body workout I took a cross trainer,” said Ekta Jolly, a student.

“I not only have doctor clients but middle class people who want to stay fit; they pay me in installments. With help of our team of cardiologists and physiotherapists we recommend machines and diet that suit individual needs,” said Sahni.

“The sale of the ‘Arc’ machine, the world’s best health equipment worth 2.95 lakhs, is also doing good business here,” he added.

The gyms are not far behind though. One of the biggest gyms with spa facilities in India, ‘Elements’, will shortly open a branch in Dehradun.

“The gym will have an area of 6,500 sq. feet and the response is so good that more then 700 people have already booked for membership,” said Sahni.

Stray animals are a big problem on city roads, but the corporation has failed to control the rising number of these animals.

Haridwar, December 27
Stressing on giving the nation a new dimension, based on culture and focused on development, Uttarakhand Governor BL Joshi urged the scholars to give importance to quality in their research, here yesterday.

Speaking on the 27th annual conference of chemists, Joshi said Macaulay’s pattern of education during the British days was not in sync with the Indian culture and to counter that Swami Shraddhanand founded the Gurukul Kangri University in 1902, which has become a centre of excellence in terms of imparting moral education. The varsity has churned the finest of scholars since then.

Citing the scientific aspects of Vedas, the Governor urged the scientific community to move towards Vedas, as they give us a scientific opinion.

“Research should be from heart. This is best exemplified by the Guru-Shisya culture practiced by the Gurukul,” said the Governor.

Vice chancellor Professor Swatantra Kumar said as early as 1900, the Gurukul had laboratories and have made a tremendous contribution to the scientific community since then.

Altogether, 50 stalls have been assigned to artisans of different states while 25 stalls have been exclusively earmarked for the artisans hailing from Uttarakhand.