Ludhiana: Jodhewal Basti flyover finally open for commuters
After a 10-year-long wait, one leg of the controversial Jodhewal Basti flyover was finally thrown open to public today.
City mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu inaugurated the left leg of the flyover for commuters.
After the inauguration, Sandhu said the functioning of the flyover will bring a huge respite for commuters who used to remain stuck in the bottleneck.
The controversial chowk had turned into a bane for commuters and witnessed some of the worst traffic chaos and tragic accidents over the years.
To top it all, a shrine in the middle of the highway made Jodhewal Basti Chowk one of the most complicated bottlenecks of the city.
The flyover project, which started in September 2009, was to be completed by November 2011 but the project was derailed after a tug-of-war ensued between the road construction company and the shrine operators on the issue of relocating the religious place.
Commuters heading from Samrala Chowk to Jalandhar Bypass were a harried lot and had to encounter massive traffic jam at Jodhewal Basti Chowk.
As standoff pertaining to relocating the shrine remained unresolved, the national highway authorities made another move and acquired the land of a government school and demolished its structure to expand the road located near Jodhwal Basti Chowk. However, acquiring the school also did not resolve the problem.
If the encroachment on the slip roads near Jodhewal Basti was not enough, devotees visiting the shrine park their vehicles erratically on the side of the highway, leading to snarls. The wrong parking of the buses also compounds the traffic problem at Jodhewal Basti Chowk. In the absence of designated bus stops, bus drivers used to stop the vehicles at the chowk which often led to traffic jam. Rahul Verma, member of the road safety council, said one portion of the flyover from Jalandhar bypass to Sherpur Chowk was thrown open for commuters on September 26. “The resumption of traffic on both sides of Jodhewal Basti Flyover would bring huge respite for city residents. Now work will start on building the slip road and thereafter the cuts will be plugged,” said Verma.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Karnataka Cong requests officials to remove Savarkar's posters in Udupi
The Congress party in Udupi district requested the police and district administration to remove Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's posters installed on the backdrop of Independence Day celebrations. Their move comes after Karnataka Police on August 15 imposed Section 144 in parts of Shivamogga district after a clash over Savarkar and Tipu Sultan's banners at Ameer Ahmed circle on Independence Day. Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said nobody should take the law into their hands at any cost.
-
Bihar: 27 kanwariyas injured after bus hits divider near Purnia
At least 27 kanwariyas were injured, eight of them seriously, when a bus bound to Kishanganj from Deoghar hit the divider on NH-31 near Kajra bridge under Dagarua police station about 15km from Purnia district headquarters on Wednesday morning. Station house officer, Dagarua Ramchandra Mandal claimed the accident took place due to the negligence of the bus driver. An injured, identified as Ghan Shyam Pandit, said they were returning from Deoghar and were on their way to Chhatarghat in Kishanganj.
-
AAP women's wing files complaint against Priyank Kharge for ‘derogatory’ remark
The women's wing of the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Karnataka State Women's Commission, seeking action against former minister and Congress MLA Priyank Kharge over his lewd remark that women seeking government jobs in the BJP-ruled state have to give sexual favours. "MLA Priyank Kharge has spoken out against women during an event in Kalaburagi on August 12," AAP's Bengaluru women's wing president, Kushala Swamy, told reporters here.
-
Declare Basti, eastern UP as drought-hit: BJP MP in letter to Yogi Adityanath
LUCKNOW: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Harish Dewedi has asked Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to declare Basti and eastern UP as drought-hit, the second UP leader to make the demand in view of deficient rainfall in large parts of the state. According to the India meteorological department data, Uttar Pradesh has received 45% less rainfall this monsoon till August 16.
-
MP minister Tulsiram Silawat, kin escape unhurt after truck rams into his car
A truck rammed into the official car of Madhya Pradesh minister Tulsiram Silawat in Dewas district of the state when he was travelling to Bhopal with his family members, but all of them escaped unhurt, a police official said. The incident occurred around 10 pm on Tuesday on Dewas Bypass road, he said. Police officials reached the spot after the accident and the driver of the truck was detained.
