Dehradun, a rapidly growing city, has undergone enormous changes in the past few years. Since it was introduced to the status of Uttarakhand's capital city in 2000, there has been a significant increase in the population. Dehradun faces traffic congestion challenges, leading to travel times, fuel consumptions and air pollution.
Before 2000, Dehradun was a quiet city with a reasonable traffic flow. There was less traffic on the major thoroughfares and travel times were considerably reduced. People were not worried or stressed about traffic and whether they will be able to reach in time or not.
When Dehradun was named as a capital city, a tremendous number of people came to the city. In 2000, at the time of the formation of the state of Uttarakhand, the population of Dehradun city was estimated to be 6 to 6.5 lakh. Since then the population has increased and is currently over 16 lakh. Government offices, educational institutions, and businesses came to the city, leading to a major increase in population density.
According to the Master Plan of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), Dehradun's population is projected to reach 23.5 to 24 lakh by 2041. Due to the weak public transportation Dehradun currently has, private vehicle ownership will be extremely high. People would want individual cars or any other vehicles for daily purposes. This will lead to traffic jams and traffic congestions throughout the whole city.
When the state of Uttarakhand was created, there were 4 lakh vehicles registered at the RTEO office, and as of 2024, this number has increased to 32-36 lakh cars, representing an eightfold increase. While the road network has tripled during this period, the growth in vehicle registration has outpaced it significantly. Consequently, despite some improvements, the relative growth remains weak, leading to significant traffic challenges for the people of Dehradun, particularly during tourist seasons and festivals.
Protests are also a huge factor that are impacting traffic. When the session of Vidhan Sabha goes, all the roads near that choke. The way this city grew, in a half- hazard manner is the issue. Dehradun has witnessed an unplanned urban development. Had it been planned all these factors would have been kept in mind and looked at, the growth of this city would have been organised.
One of the primary causes of traffic is the lack of public transportation. Even today, there is no hostalic understanding or sense of emergency in the government and within the authorities. The city of Dehradun is experiencing substance abuse. The so-called infrastructure is grossly inadequate to cater to the current traffic demand of the city.
The daily traffic is decreasing the productivity of people, affecting their mental health, causing rapid increase in steel, causing road rages in Dehradun, increasing drunk driving road accidents, etc.
The government is allowing constructions on the roads of Dehradun due to the Smart City Project without considering the traffic hazards it will create. City parking space is also a crucial aspect of infrastructure. Commercial complexes should include in-built parking facilities because visitors often end up parking on the road, which causes blockage of ongoing traffic.
There are a lot of plans being made, but none of them have been effective as of now. The government makes new plans, but it makes no difference, and no measures are taken towards the plans. The limited network of roads and flyovers is unable to cater efficiently to the mobility demands in Dehradun. There are several attempts towards development, but the ground results are still missing.
The residents of Dehradun have been hearing about the various public transport options like metro, neo-metro, light rail, pod taxis, etc. The lack of concrete initiatives has diluted public trust in these announcements. It is important that the state government takes ownership of the issue of public transport in Dehradun and they come up with actionable solutions and fixed timelines.
The improvement of urban transportation will only happen when it becomes a political priority. We feel like public participation is also essential for improving the city’s traffic and transportation system. In an attempt to spread awareness, our team held the first-ever round table conference at Hopetown Girls’ School. This was an initiative taken by Hopetown and Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation. Mr. Anoop Nautiyal, the founder of SDC, also joined us as the guest speaker.
We had invited six of our school teachers to talk on the pressing issue of the traffic situation in Dehradun. The main subtopics we decided to bring up were: the current traffic situation in Dehradun, comparison of traffic in Dehradun and other countries, road infrastructure, citizen behavior in traffic, effects on mental health because of traffic, environmental impacts, and potential solutions for the traffic situation in Dehradun.
Certain conclusions that we derived from the Dehradun Traffic Alert Roundtable are :-
The traffic crisis in Dehradun highlights the urgent need for urban planning and effective public transportation solutions to accommodate its rapidly growing population. Without immediate action and public involvement, the city's challenges will continue to escalate, impacting the quality of life for its residents.
Ahana Gupta, Akshma, and Arva Wani are students at Hopetown Girls' School.
