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Yamunanagar motorists despair over hour-long delays at railway crossing
Come Thursday, a major railway overbridge connecting Vishkarma Chowk on NH-65 to Kamani Chowk on Workshop Road will remain closed till June 15
Commuters taking national highway 65 often lose hours in chaotic traffic jams at the Indira Market railway crossing, next to Saraswati Sugar Mills, in Yamunanagar, particularly during the morning and evening rush hours.
Cars, two-wheelers and three-wheelers can be seen squeezed between trucks and tractor trollies bound for the plywood factories across the crossing. Traffic bound for the market and stand-alone shops and eateries along the highway compound irate motorists’ troubles.
Kapil, who works at one of the eateries dotting the highway, says, “Traffic snarls are caused when vehicles from three to four queues on the already congested highway. Customers do not find any suitable parking space because of trucks lined up at the sugar mills, which has further dried down sales that are negligible to begin with due to the pandemic. They cannot wait for takeaways in the morning rush.”
“While few passenger trains cross the Ambala-Haridwar line, many good trains take the route leading to traffic jams through most of the day,” a railway employee attached with Yamunanagar railway station said.
Overbridge closed till June 15
Come Thursday, a major railway overbridge connecting Vishkarma Chowk on NH-65 to Kamani Chowk on Workshop Road will remain closed till June 15. Officials said the flyover will remain closed due to construction-related work on a dedicated freight corridor along the rail line.
While the traffic police have created diversions to ease vehicles’ movement, the closure is expected to add to the mayhem at the market.
Deputy commissioner Girish Arora could not be reached for a comment. However, MLA Ghanshyamdas Arora said another overbridge had been proposed at the site to ease the congestion.
