Unfinished BRTS work ‘dangerous’

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 16

The unfinished construction of a BRTS station outside the railway station poses grave risk to commuters.

Iron bars have come out of the partially raised pillars from beneath the road, resulting in damages to several BRTS buses.

Surinder Singh, a resident of the locality situated opposite the railway station, said it was extremely dangerous that unfinished civil work was left on the road. Pointing towards a pit in the middle of the Railway Link road that witnesses heavy traffic, he said it could prove fatal any time.

The road leads to Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post and many educational, defence and BSF installations en route. Accidents are frequent and deadly on this road.

Another resident of the area, Hardeep Singh Gabarhia, said even after inauguration of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in November 2016, its basic infrastructure was nowhere near completion. He said the bus stand and workshop for BRTS buses were still under construction. He said when the government was not in a position to complete a total length of 30.73 km BRTS project in its stipulated time limit, how it would resolve the traffic mess in the city.

He said its bus stops were not fully complete and these must display time schedule of all buses and its fares must be reduced to make it economical for people.

When contacted, BRTS officials stationed outside the railway station, seeking anonymity, said the civil work for installing a lift and a bridge to pick up and drop passengers was abandoned after a private hotel raised objections and took the matter to the court. Proprietors of the hotel fear that its construction would mar the facade of the establishment. They accepted that many buses got punctured and window panes damaged due to its iron bars.