Ludhiana: Trial to ease traffic flow by diverting city-bound buses’ route on the blink

Ludhiana-bound buses were diverted towards Gill road- Southern bypass- Ferozepur road to ease the flow of traffic at Bharat Nagar chowk

The trials conducted by the traffic police to change the route for passenger buses in a bid to reduce congestion at Bharat Nagar Chowk failed, as the alternative route lies in a dilapidated state leading to long jams there.

Ludhiana’s Bharat Nagar chowk is undergoing major construction work under the elevated road project.

In a meeting of the Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority(UMTA) held last week, it was proposed that diverting the buses towards Gill road- Southern bypass- Ferozepur road will ease the flow of traffic at Bharat Nagar chowk which is undergoing major construction work under the elevated road project.

During the meeting, which had representatives from the traffic police, district administration,National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and civil society members, it was decided that the diverted routes will remain in effect for a period of two months.

Traffic police officials said buses heading towards the bus stand will be allowed through the Ferozepur road as the alternative road is damaged. They added that a final decision regarding this will be taken by the weekend.

The construction work has been started at three sides of the intersection to meet the July 2023 deadline which has left very narrow space for the traffic. Traffic officials said as the alternative routes are marred by potholes and are undergoing construction it led to the worsening of the situation near Verka chowk on the Ferozepur road.

Punjab Road Safety Council member Rahul Verma said inspections were carried out on Sunday and it was decided to give it a go on Monday, but due to the situation of the roads, the move was called back.

Assistant commissioner of police Charanjiv Singh Lamba said efforts by the authorities are underway and a solution to the problem will be found soon. He said that as the Sidhwan canal traffic point has been also closed for the upcoming three weeks the trials did not turn out to be successful.