Ludhiana: Traffic woes outside colleges hazardous for students
The lack of adequate pathways, signboards, and road infrastructure near colleges in Ludhiana, prominently at Bharat Nagar chowk, Civil Lines, clock tower, and Vardhaman chowk, has raised concerns over road safety of students due to unchecked traffic.
Ludhiana
The lack of adequate pathways, signboards, and road infrastructure near colleges in Ludhiana, prominently at Bharat Nagar Chowk, Civil Lines, Clock Tower, and Vardhaman Chowk, has raised concerns over road safety of students due to unchecked traffic.
At Government College for Girls near Bharat Nagar Chowk, students complain about their struggle to cross the road after the construction of the elevated NHAI overbridge.
BA final year student Supreet stated, “Many students are helpless to cross the lane to catch autos from other sides. At times, it becomes difficult to cross due to hectic traffic as the vehicles do not slow down, putting pedestrians at risk.”
Prabhjot Kaur, another student cited that the auto drivers recklessly park outside college gates encroaching the remaining space, where students riding scooty face hurdles to navigate this lane.
Speaking of the inconvenience faced by students, college principal, Suman Lata said that before the construction of NHAI flyover students did not face this problem as they had the foot overbridge to cross the road.
But now, the number of accidents have risen due to unchecked speeding. The students are now obliged to walk to Durga Mata mandir and Bharat Nagar Chowk to cross. But the filthy water accumulated near this stretch makes it difficult to walk. She further asserted that we have raised many complaints with then NHAI project director, Navratan but the issue remains the same.
At Khalsa College, Civil Lines, the presence of a zebra crossing is rendered ineffective due to the absence of traffic lights. The busy market area exacerbates the issue, with the gate staff ensuring the safety of students leaving the premises.
Similarly, students at Master Tara Singh College for Women near Clock Tower face challenges due to the lack of traffic police to control vehicles in the wrong lanes.
Nidhi, a second-year student, expressed her frustration, noting that now they have got used to the situation.
Notably, the concerns of Government College, Ludhiana East, with footpath and traffic issues are no different, compounded by waterlogging near the college during rain.
A teaching staff member at the college mentioned that students often skip classes because of sewage water logging lingering for days. Since many of the students are pedestrians where they face challenges to find an appropriate space to stand for public transport near Vardhaman Chowk, bustling with heavy vehicles.
Commenting on the issue college principal Deepak Chopra, said that they conduct classes on road safety to make the students aware of the precautionary measures.
Assistant commissioner of police traffic Charanjit Lamba said, “We diligently try to sort the traffic issues near schools and colleges on our end. We regularly send PCR vans to keep a check on them. But the colleges also need to contribute by deploy their own volunteers during peak hours to tackle the chaos with mutual coordination.” “I will also write to the municipal corporation to ensure proper road infrastructure like speed control sign boards near educational institutes,” he added.