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Road closure for Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s debate cripples Ludhiana’s traffic
Police barricading was set up around 11.30 am on one side of the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road, forcing commuters to turn to longer, alternative routes
The closure of the Sidhwan Canal-Professor Mohan Singh Chowk (Aarti Chowk) stretch of the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road, one of the central arteries of the city, turned the Wednesday commute into a nightmare for city residents.
The traffic snarls lasted for over the three-hour duration of the debate between Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann and leaders of opposition parties hosted at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU)..
Police barricading was set up around 11.30 am on one side of the road, forcing commuters to turn to longer, alternative routes.
The aforementioned stretch remained closed till the CM left the varsity campus. Heavy police presence could be witnessed in the area as well as all eight university gates, which were closed for the public or had multiple check-posts set up.
In a slight respite, traffic on the elevated road ran as usual.
Speaking of the ordeal, Jagjot Singh, a city resident, said he was stuck in a traffic jam near Verka Milk plant around noon while he was headed to the Sat Paul Mittal road (Malhar road). He was forced to take an alternative route to reach Bhai Bala Chowk, from where he reached Malhar Cinema road.
Notably, the narrower inner roads are not equipped to handle traffic caused by diversions caused by such closures.
Satvir Kaur, a resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, also expressed frustration, saying she reached PAU’s gate number 8 on South City road to visit the Saras Mela, but police officials directed her to gate number 3, where she was told that only varsity employees were allowed entry. “I eventually returned home after utter inconvenience,” she rued.
Lengthy checks at varsity gates, meanwhile, also resulted in roadblocks and serpentine queues of vehicles bled onto the main roads.
Chaos loomed large despite the near-350 strong police presence at various intersections.
Addressing the issue, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Charanjiv Lamba said the closure of the main road for about two hours caused slower traffic movement, but the elevated road remained open for traffic.
