National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials received a dressing down from Ludhiana member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu over non-completion of multiple projects in the district and dilapidated state of the area near Sherpur Chowk on National Highway-44, one of the key entrances to the city.
Bittu was chairing a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) at Bachat Bhawan on Monday to review progress of various state and central government sponsored schemes.
“Service roads near the chowk are in bad shape and the situation worsens when it rains. The road near Apollo Hospital is completely damaged. We call Ludhiana a Smart City, but is this smart? People from Delhi on way to Golden Temple in Amritsar also complain about how they end up getting struck near Sherpur Chowk on the National Highway. The problem has been persistent,” said the MP, who is the chairman of DISHA.
The service lane from Giaspura to Sherpur Chowk is riddled with potholes and a portion of the road stretch towards Dholewal side poses a grave threat to commuters. Water accumulation on the service lane is another major issue.
NHAI officials replied that they face problems due to sewerage overflow and each time the road is repaired, it breaks again.
{{/usCountry}}NHAI officials replied that they face problems due to sewerage overflow and each time the road is repaired, it breaks again.
{{/usCountry}}“Sometimes you say the contractor absconded, sometimes it was Covid; now what excuse will you make? At least give a deadline as to when the road will be repaired?” asked Bittu, to which NHAI officials replied that the patch work will be completed by January 31 next year.
Commuters have been complaining of potholes and waterlogging for a long time now, but the issues have been ignored by authorities.
Bittu then directed NHAI officials to ensure timely completion of ongoing road projects which are making residents’ lives miserable. Problems related to incomplete highway projects near Mullanpur Dakha and the main elevated road project on Ferozpur Road were also taken up.
Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh, Jandiali zila parishad chairman Yadwinder Singh, deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik and heads of all government departments were also present at the meeting.
“The city’s entrance is from Apollo hospital. NHAI collects lakhs in way of toll tax, but the public is receiving nothing in return,” said Bittu, while talking to mediapersons.
All legislators from the district gave the meeting a miss, much to Bittu’s disappointment. Only Jagraon MLA Saravjit Kaur Manuke’s representative was in attendance, who raised several issues.
Bittu said the MLAs should have been present, as the meeting was solely focused on Ludhiana’s development.