Caught in traffic jam, Gadkari says situation is bad

, July 25: Union minister

was caught in a traffic jam near Kherki Daula toll plaza, 43 km from Delhi, Friday, prompting him to say the traffic situation is very bad.

Gadkari, union minister for road transport and highways, along with union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh and Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Krishan Pal Gujjar were stuck in the traffic bottleneck for 20 minutes in a two-kilometre-long stretch of vehicles.

The ministers were visiting Gurgaon to review the Delhi-Jaipur, Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) and Delhi-Gurgaon expressways.

While returning to Delhi, Gadkari spoke to the media at Sirhol border. He said: "Situation is worse, we have decided to take steps and will implement road measures soon." However, he did not mention his plan of action to remove the traffic snarls.

Gadkari's convoy first stopped at Rajiv Chowk on the Gurgaon Expressway where he inquired about the problems facing the region from Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi and Municipal Commissioner Praveen Kumar.

After that, they stopped at the Hero Honda Chowk and discussed plans to decongest the area. While moving towards Manesar, they were stuck in the traffic jam near Kherki Daula toll plaza.

Gadkari stopped at various places along the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway and enquired about problems being faced by the residents.

People at Shikohpur said long traffic jams are a routine affair and have been badly affecting their lives and work schedules. The ministers then visited KMP site at Pachgaon (56 km from Delhi) and assessed the situation.

Gadkari will also visit Kotputli in Rajasthan to review the work on the 272-km Delhi-Jaipur Expressway that was to be completed in 2009.

IANS