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‘Chronic issues being ignored’: Ludhiana Smart City Ltd director wants Punjab CM to intervene
One of the directors of the Ludhiana Smart City Limited, Sanjay Goel has written a letter to Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, urging him to convene a meeting with architects and officials of special purpose vehicle formed under the smart city mission to resolve the problems
Raising concern over the ‘ignored’ chronic issues of the city, including traffic congestion and shortage of parking space, one of the directors of the Ludhiana Smart City Limited (LSCL), Sanjay Goel, has sought chief minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi’s intervention into the matter.
Goel, who is also the chairperson of The Indian Institute of Architects (Punjab Chapter), has written a letter to CM Channi, urging him to convene a meeting with architects and officials of special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed under the smart city mission to resolve the problems.
He stated that the cities of the state, including the upcoming smart cities like Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, are struggling due to traffic congestion and lack of parking space is further taking toll on the public. Different proposals have been made in the past to build multi-storey parking lots at Feroze Gandhi market, Books Market, near Aarti Chowk and other areas, but nothing has been done at the ground level, he added.
“No doubt development projects are being taken up, but the chronic problems are being ignored. There is a dire need of establishing at least 10 multi-storey parking in the city. Apart from the old city areas, shortage of parking space is also a major issues in Ghumar Mandi, Model Town and Gol Market,” Goel said.
“Encroachments on road sides are also a major issue. A lot of time and fuel is being wasted in traffic jams and public is facing harassment. Also, it adds to pollution. These issues need to the redressed on priority and special committee should be formed to tackle the problems related to traffic congestion and parking. The CM should call a meeting at the earliest,” he added.
“Covering of parking space in building due to illegal construction is also a major concern and the government is working to regularise such unauthorised buildings by proposing one-time settlement policy, which is not good. The government and administration need to act strictly as similar issues are being faced in other cities of the state too. There are many other issues, including solid waste management and no proper rainwater harvesting,” said Goel.
