Shoppers enjoyed a free walk on the cross road of Commercial Street on Saturday evening, as vehicular movement was banned on the stretch for a few hours.
More than 15 traffic cops, along with DCP Traffic (East) C K Baba, were at the spot regulating traffic and made sure no vehicle entered the cross road.
“We decided to ban the vehicular movement on the cross road of Commercial Street, which is considered as the main hub of shopping. In the afternoon, we noticed that the road was chock-a-block with vehicles; and by 4 pm, we decided to put up a barricade and block entry for vehicles,” Baba said.
“It was done to help people walk around freely, as the vehicles take up most of the place and there is no proper pavement for the shoppers to walk. Vehicles were banned till 8 pm and we received a positive response from the public who were able to take a stroll without worrying about the vehicles,” he added.
Asked why vehicles shouldn’t be banned permanently on the road, he said, “We will have to discuss the matter with senior police officers and also with the owners of the stores on the stretch before taking a decision. Also, we are yet to identify a spot for parking vehicles.” Deepika Murgond, a businesswoman, said, “It was a surprise to find there were no vehicles on the cross road.
The road is the main place where all the shops are located and most of the shopping is done here. Usually, this particular stretch is always choked with vehicles, leaving hardly any place for the people to walk. When there are vehicles on this road, we used to take more than 20 minutes to reach one end from the other. But now, it takes just five minutes to walk through it. Hope this ban is implemented on weekends. Also, it is noiseless as there is no honking and smoke emitting from vehicles.” Talks are on to implement the rule on MG Road and Brigade Road, too, the officer said.
Published 07 November 2015, 20:26 IST