[lang_en]KUMARHATTI: The traffic problem in this town and the nearby town of Dharampur has gained alarming proportion. Whereas the volume of traffic has increased manifold on Kalka-Shimla national highway, the traffic management measures have remained the same. The both towns have bus stand points on highway, thanks to the lack of proper bus stand.
As a result, the bus stand points remain heavily crowded with people rush, waiting for buses. The high volume of traffic particularly on weekend when tourist headed to hills, makes the things very pathetic with traffic virtually moves in hap-hazardous manner. The repeated long traffic jams have now become an order of days with understaffed traffic police failing miserably to manage the things in right ways.
In the absence of bus stand, buses, private taxis and other vehicles queue up on the highway, thus posing danger to the pedestrians’ security. Ironically the both towns also lack space for private taxi parking. The taxis remain parked alongside the road thus making the spot more congested. The long line of buses and taxis leave limited room for the smooth flow of traffic.
Throughout the day there is traffic chaos in both towns with no respite for situation. The worst affected are the locals and shopkeepers who have to face great difficulty in crossing the road. The markets of both towns that are situated on the both sides of highway have now turned into high accident prone areas. Observation show , the minor accidents are now common in both towns’ markets involving and pedestrians in most cases.
Due to insufficient space at the point where the buses halt, the passengers have to go through an ordeal till they board the buses concerned. The most affected are women, who in the absence of sufficient place for sitting find it hard to wait for buses in the open. The HPPWD (NH) rain shelter at the Dharampur bus stand point is sufficient to accommodate only one-third of average arrival of passengers.
The situation goes from bad to worse during rain when passengers can be seen running for shelter in nearby shops and places. The signboards put up by the authorities asking people and motorists follow parking rules are a mute testimony to the way authorities function.[/lang_en]
