•         Haphazard vehicles parking
  •         Traffic problem due to high density of vehicles
  •         Deplorable footpath system

Mangaluru, June 21: Mangaluru, a prime business hub of the coastal region, is being developed into a Smart City. Thousands of vehicles come to the city. But the increasing number of vehicles has been causing traffic problem in the city and this has become a big headache to the vehicle users.

Unscientific widening of the roads has been causing traffic movement in the city. As there is no proper and systematic parking facility in the city, the pedestrians are also facing the problem. Due to lack of parking facility, the motorists park their vehicles haphazardly. Parking space is identified unscientifically. Though foot-paths were constructed on major roads in the city, they were not scientifically built. In some places, the foot-paths were constructed on the left side and in some places, it was constructed on the right side. This has affected the pedestrian movement.    

Buildings which don’t have parking space

It is mandatory to ensure parking space while constructing the big buildings. On condition of providing parking space, the city corporation gives permission to construct the building. But in many places, the building owners have not followed the rule. This has highlighted the negligence of the city corporation authorities. There is an allegation that even the elected representatives (corporators) are also not responding positively to this problem. No facility was made for the pedestrians to cross the roads. Even the city corporation has neglected to construct the bus stands at appropriate places.

On National Highway 66, traffic congestion has become a common phenomenon from Nantur-Pumpwell to Thokkottu because of the road works. All the materials and machinery were dumped on the roadside causing problem to the vehicular movement. During rainy season, this is posing many problems.

During morning and evening time, the vehicular movement is more naturally. This is also causing traffic congestion. Though roads were widened, the traffic problem was not solved in many roads as vehicles are being parked on the roads and foot-paths. Along with the vehicles, the foot-path vendors are also adding more problems.

1689 vehicles registered in April

Total 1689 new vehicles were registered in April month. Of them, 970 two-wheelers, 376 cars, 94 goods careers and 249 other vehicles were registered.

Speaking to Varthabharati, DCP (Traffic and Crime) Uma Prashanth said that police personnel were deputed to avoid parking vehicles on roads. Police have been locking the vehicles which are being parked on roads for more time. Even people should understand the situation and avoid parking vehicles on the roads. There is a proposal to construct a multi-level parking lot at Hampankatta under the Smart City Project. Vehicular movement was eased due to road widening. The project would be implemented in a phased manner and public cooperation is also needed, the officer said.

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Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.

Search for three more missing persons is underway.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.

Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.

However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.

Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.

The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.

Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.

Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.

SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.

He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.

Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.

Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.

According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.

Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.

Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.

Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.