There are about 47 Chowks in Chandigarh as of now, built to slow down, prevent crashes and traffic congestion. But keeping in view the present road mishaps, fatalities and traffic, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has decided to start the work of re-shaping and re-designing of Chowks in Chandigarh. This aims at lessen the impact of accidents and provide safety to people.

Need of Redesigning the Chowks in Chandigarh

Earlier the MC has initiated the work of re-designing 6 roundabouts in the city under a pilot project at a cost of Rs 1.40 crore. According to the officials, the initiate was carried out on the recommendation of Road Safety Council. The project was aimed to improve the road safety at Chowks in Chandigarh. After the success of the pilot project, now the MC is all prepared to re-shape other 14 roundabouts in the city.

Several major roundabouts under UT Administration will be re-designed and equipped with surveillance cameras and pavers around. The re-shaping aims at decreasing the impact in case of road accidents, easing traffic and providing safety.

According to the framework decided by the MC, the height of 6 Chowks in Chandigarh has been reduced from nearly 2 feet to 9 inches. This will avoid direct crashing with the roundabout during the mishap. Instead of using any hard or rough material, Paver blocks have been put around the chowks with 6-foot width. These pavers will ensure the safety of the commuters or pedestrians while crossing the road. Besides this, the CCTV cameras will also be installed on all these junctions and will be connected to the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Sector 17 for live surveillance.

Despite the new design, the geometry of the Chowks in Chandigarh will remain unchanged. The drivers have to pay to the officials for any damaged caused to the chowks. According to the officials, “Often, there are cases where the drunk car drivers damage chowks and speed away. We will identify their registration numbers through these cameras and recover losses from them.”

This concept of roundabout is already used in Panchkula and now will be implemented in Chandigarh. The decision to redesign the roundabouts was first taken during the state-level road safety council meeting, chaired by UT advisor Dharam Pal in 2021 and subsequently in 2022.

Experts point out that while roundabouts help commuters to self-regulate on speed, the traffic lights have an exact opposite effect. “The common tendency is to jump traffic lights, especially during non-peak hours. Roundabouts, on the contrary, are self-regulatory structures that act as traffic-calming devices,” says Navdeep Asija, a technical member of the state-level Road Safety Council and Punjab traffic adviser.

In a Nutshell

The UT Administration is taking a positive step towards the safety of the commuters. The re-designing and re-shaping of the Chowks in Chandigarh will help in lowering the road accidents and related fatalities. Alongside this will also provide easy to pedestrians will crossing the road. Furthermore, no change in the geometrical structure will not lead to spoil the ancient designing of rotary intersections in the city.

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Pictures of Old Chandigarh

These were some of the pictures from the ancient times of Chandigarh which we all have missed, cause of Le Corbusier hard work and zeal we have been able to get today’s Chandigarh as the City Beautiful

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With the opening of the Le Corbusier Centre, this is exactly what the Administration aims for. The most interesting part is that the Centre is set up in Sector-19. The Sector-19 office is the place Corbusier used while preparing the City’s master plan.

Le Corbusier Centre is a haven for tourists and architecture students, especially. The place depicts all the works of Le Corbusier. It also dwells on various aspects of his life which are not known to the public. It is a great place if you want to know about the cultural heritage of Chandigarh.

What is interesting is note that ever since it has been opened, it is being visited by lots of researchers, scholars, historians etc. It is because of the fact that all the information available here is authentic. The Centre is also recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The office designed is also in consonance with the cost effective and climate friendly designs that are the focus of every building in Chandigarh. One on visiting the place can see a lot of experimental and innovative designs in the building. According to various experts, this will help the visitors get an insight into the genius. The building also introduces the concept of sustainability and green environment.

Thus, it is easy to see that Le Corbusier was way ahead of his time. No doubt, this place does full justice to him. It is certainly, a must visit for every city resident, tourist and student of architecture. This tribute to him is a great way to thank him for his contribution to our city.

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