As the city grows with new business and apartments, the biggest challenge in front of the authorities

is to ensure adequate parking space in the constructed area and shopping complex to ease the

traffic movement. In the last one decade the rise of vehicles particularly, two wheelers have

registered manifold increase with each family possessing at least two-wheeler on an average in city

periphery.

The increase in the sale of the four wheelers, especially the budget car too, is impressive with more

than 5000 cars being sold in the last fiscal ending March 31. However, the darker side of the picture

is that annually above thousand road accidents are taking place in the city and four to five accidents

(including small and moderate accidents) daily on an average in which more than 100 odd people

are losing their lives. And, either the two-wheeler rider or the pedestrian on the road is on the

receiving end.

"Jamshedpur has a very good network of smooth roads and the problem is that even such vehicles

that are almost 15 to 20 years old are still playing on the streets in addition to the fresh bulk of

vehicles. The relatively older vehicles should get off the road which, unfortunately, is not happening

in the city," said an official of the district transport department.

There's no denying that fact that Steel city is only next to Pune in terms of two wheelers strength on

road but the width of the main roads are small to accomodate the heavy flow of the vehicles. The Jai

Prakash Narayan Setu and Kharkai Bridge, connecting Mango and Adityapur to Jamshedpur

respectively, at the two ends are most prone to traffic jams with one or the other incident of either

breakdown of a heavy vehicle or political party's blocking the vehicular movement at regular

intervals.

The inflow of the automatic gear vehicles mostly, the scooter version, are on the rise with school and

college students opting for them in large numbers and during the peak hours the vehicles flow on

the busy main roads become erratic leading to accidents.

Construction of a new toll bridge connecting Jamshedpur to Gamharia has eased with all the

commercial heavy vehicles staying away from the city. “ Still the traffic condition in the city has gone

for a toss. Auto rickshaws and buses have become a big menace in the town with their negligence on

the roads as well as haphazard parking. I think it is high time that the administration take steps to

control it,” said Prakash Sharma, a city-based social worker.

He also said that no traffic constable with requisite trained skills had been deployed at the place to

regulate traffic. “The city’s population has reached close to 17 lakhs but still it does not have a single

flyover. I think the private parties should be involved to develop and beautify roundabouts and

maintenance of the roads in the non-Jusco area,” said Kameshwar Prasad, a senior citizen.