E-Paper
3 years on, road connecting Amritsar to Kartarpur corridor in dilapidated condition
It’s been more than three years since Kartarpur corridor was opened, the road connecting Amritsar city to the corridor continues to be in dilapidated condition and turning into accident-prone stretch.
It’s been more than three years since Kartarpur corridor was opened, the road connecting Amritsar city to the corridor continues to be in dilapidated condition and turning into accident-prone stretch.
Two months before the opening of the corridor that provides Indian pilgrims a visa-free access to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartapur, the last resting place of Guru Nanak in Pakistan, the then Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had conducted a special meeting of cabinet in Dera Baba Nanak, a border town which is linked to the historic gurdwara through the corridor, and sanctioned crores of rupees for widening and strengthening of the major roads leading to this iconic town, that remained a trading hub before the partition.
As per the announcement made by the then cabinet minister and Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the road was planned to be widened by 33 feet at the cost of ₹88 crore to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Sikh faith’s founder.
The work of widening and strengthening the road had started in the beginning, but only around 30% has been completed so far in last three years, despite importance of the stretch in term of religious tourism. The pilgrims, especially those who come to visit Kartarpur gurdwara via this corridor from distant areas, also visit Golden Temple in Amritsar city, 50 kms from the border town.
First of all this road is narrow in view of the traffic movement. Portion of the road from Dera Baba Nanak to Fatehgarh Churian town, which is situated in the middle of this road, is somewhat better, but the portion from Fatehgarh Churian to Amritsar city is in very bad condition. There are big potholes on it. Entire road is broken. The government has not even got it repaired. The road turns riskier during night time. Level of the road is upto one feet higher from its side, that makes this road more dangerous.
Thanks to the government’s apathy, this stretch is risky for driving as many people have lost their lives to the accidents often happening on this road. This road proved to be tragic for an entire family recently. On February 4, a man, his two children and wife were killed during an accident on this road.
While speaking over phone, Randhawa said, “The work was underway during Congress regime, but it was shut in AAP regime. The AAP government does not hear anyone. Yet I will take up the issue with the government and ensure the work is completed”.
“The Congress regime had enough time to complete this work but it failed to do so. So, it cannot shift the blame to others,” said Pargat Singh, who runs a shop on this road at village Nangali.
Makhan Singh, former sarpanch of village Chetanpura, who is an inhabitant of this road stretch, said, “This road was constructed around two decades ago. After that the government did not pay any attention toward it. We have staged many dharnas to seek widening and reconstruction of the road so that the mishaps could stop, but to no avail”.
Notably, this road passes through four assembly constituencies—Ajnala, Attari, Majitha, Fatehgarh Churian and Dera Baba Nanak. Ajnala is represented by cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, while other constituencies also represented by the cabinet ministers during SAD-BJP and Congress regimes. Yet, fate of this road could not change.
“Improvement of this road is in our mind. We will restart the work in three-four months”, said Dhaliwal, while PWD officials were not available over phone.
