Faridabad on a high with flyover

[dheerajjain]

Source: Times of India, Nov 30, 2010

"It's like a new lifeline has been created for us,'' said Payal Kakkar as she attended to customers in her showroom in Sector 15 market. Kakkar, a resident of Faridabad, was on Monday celebrating the opening of the Badarpur flyover much like the rest of the township.

The smooth connectivity the flyover offers will simply change the life of this young entrepreneur. ''Till now, my husband and I had to take the local train to go to Karol Bagh, which is where we get our showroom goods from. It was a long journey, and involved a lot of preparation. Now, with the flyover opening, I can make the trip down alone any time of the week with ease,'' she added.

The flyover is increasingly coming to represent economic wellbeing for Faridabad residents. Daily commuters are giving a big thumbs-up to the flyover — Dr NK Pandey, a health professional, says the commuting time has come down from 1.5 hours to about 30 minutes to Ashram crossing. Faridabad's large industrial sector is also looking towards the economic windfall of the new infrastructure. Said SK Jain, president of Faridabad Industries Association (FIA), ''The Badarpur crossing was a huge bottleneck. Since goods come from Delhi, most of the industries had to factor in the commuting in all their logistical plans. With the flyover becoming functional, it will have an impact on the industries as well.'' According to Jain, there are over 5,000 industrial units in Faridabad, all of which are poised to benefit from the opening of the flyover.

While experts in Faridabad's chamber of commerce said there aren't any studies on the exact economic impact of the flyover, it's expected to be substantial. They claim that the impact can be gauged from the fact that the very perception of the township has changed. Said Ramesh Jhanwar, president of the body, ''Till now, clients to our export units would ask us to visit them in Delhi. We couldn't imagine asking them to come down to Faridabad because of the traffic congestion. All that will change now.''

But the common man in Faridabad is celebrating the most. In fact, for many residents who work in the neighbouring cities of Noida and Delhi, it's a boon that has been in the offing for a long time. Said Manohar Chadha, who works in an MNC in Noida, ''The usual time to cross Badarpur is around 45 minutes. Today, it took me exactly 10 minutes. What more can I say.''

It's not just the decreased commuting time that residents of Faridabad are looking forward to. Dr Pandey, who is also chairman and MD of the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences, said that the health benefits would be enormous as well. ''The pollution from the thousands of cars idling at the Badarpur crossing everyday was massive. The immediate benefit of the shorter commuting time will be felt by locals living in that area, as pollution levels are bound to come down,'' he added.

Anupam Singh, a student who commutes to Delhi every day, said, ''Personally speaking, the Metro coming to Faridabad is the best thing that could happen to NCR. But for now, I'm happy with the flyover. At least hanging out in Delhi will no longer be a problem.''