Ghaziabad: City’s integrated traffic management system network is set to be expanded to 14 more junctions, including the busy Crossings Republik, Ghanta Ghar, Navyug Market and Dudheshwarnath Mandir junctions.Rolled out on Jan 31, ITMS network in the first phase covered 57 major highway intersections and junctions. In the second phase, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) will add busy junctions at Lal Kuan, Turab Nagar, Kavi Nagar, RNE Rotary, RDC Mall, CR Township, Diamond flyover, Holy Child roundabout, Mohan Nagar and Tigri cut along the Noida border. Officials said the expansion would also help monitor pollution levels during winter.“Earlier, GMC had identified 25 additional spots, but based on the recommendations of the traffic department, 14 new spots have been selected,” a GMC official said, adding that cameras would be installed before winter.According to officials, most of the shortlisted spots see heavy vehicular pollution and tailbacks almost throughout the day. Among the busiest markets of old Ghaziabad, Ghanta Ghar (Jawahar Gate), Navyug Market and Turab Nagar regularly see congestion because of roadside parking, encroachments and pedestrian movement on the road. Dudheshwarnath temple attracts large crowds, especially during festivals, while the surrounding roads also carry local traffic between the old city and GT Road.Lal Kuan is another major convergence point where traffic from Delhi-Meerut Expressway, NH-9 and GT Road merges before dispersing towards Dadri, Bulandshahr and Aligarh. Kavi Nagar, RDC and Diamond Flyover also handle traffic from residential, commercial and NH-9 corridors.The ITMS project was rolled out with Rs 53 crore released under the Smart City programme. Of this, Rs 2.4 crore was spent on a command centre, and operation and maintenance estimated at Rs 14.4 crore.Data shared by the traffic department show that 5.7 lakh automated e-challans, with fines exceeding Rs 10 crore, have been issued to traffic violators through high-definition CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed under ITMS until Aug. Between Feb and Aug, the system issued 5.3 lakh challans to bikers without helmets alone. Over 14,000 challans were issued for triple riding, more than 11,000 for red light violations and close to 7,000 for zebra crossing violations.
