18 temporary roundabouts coming up in Mohali to check road accidents

Mohali DC requests police to set up 18 temporary roundabouts using drums at major intersections; to slow down speedsters, Mohali police had earlier set up three temporary roundabouts on the stretch from District Administrative Complex in Sector 76 to Sector 81

Amid the startling number of fatal mishaps in Mohali, deputy commissioner Aashika Jain has asked the Mohali police to construct more temporary roundabouts at vulnerable points across the city as an immediate measure.

Vehicles bypassing the newly constructed roundabout at Sector 77- 88 light point in the absence of robust traffic policing. (Ravi Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

As per figures compiled by Mohali police, as many as 485 accidents took place in the district in 2022, claiming 287 lives and leaving 376 people injured. In 2023, 48 people lost their lives due to accidents in just first two months, while 58 were injured.

To slow down speedsters, Mohali police had earlier set up three temporary roundabouts on the stretch from District Administrative Complex in Sector 76 to Sector 81.

Now, at a recent meeting regarding the urgency of roundabouts to prevent mishaps, the DC asked the Mohali SSP, Sandeep Garg, to get 18 more temporary roundabouts erected using drums.

“Looking at the increasing fatalities in Mohali, it is important to take immediate safety measures for road users. I have requested the SSP to expedite the construction of temporary roundabouts at black spots by installing drums,” Jain said.

GMADA working on 16 permanent rotaries

Meanwhile, GMADA is also working on 16 permanent roundabouts at blackspots, 11 of them on the busy Airport Road.

For starters, construction will begin for roundabouts at Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan Chowk, Sectors 78-79 Chowk and Sectors 79-80 Chowk, all lying on Airport Road.

A senior GMADA official said the authority had proposed a dumbbell shaped roundabout at the Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan Chowk, which will be the first of its kind in the country if approved.

Pankaj Mehmi, executive engineer, GMADA, said apart from the 11 roundabouts on Airport Road, five more will be set up between the District Administrative Complex in Sector 76 and Sector 81. “We have submitted the proposal with designs to the state government and will start construction as soon as the approval is in,” he said.

Earlier this month, speaking in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha during the budget session, Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh had raised concerns over the rise in road mishaps in the district and sought construction of more roundabouts.

The MLA pointedly spoke about the Airport Road and road from the District Administrative Complex in Sector 76 to Sector 81, terming these as vulnerable stretches of Mohali.

The then Punjab housing and urban development minister, Aman Arora, had then assured the MLA that roundabouts will be constructed at all black spots in the city after checking feasibility.

Arora had claimed that 16 roundabouts will be constructed in three phases – three in the first phase, eight in second phase and five in the final phase.