20-km Amritsar to Tarn Taran stretch turns into accident hotspot

The 20-km Amritsar -Tarn Taran road connecting Malwa to the holy city is in a shambles. High flow of mixed use traffic along with heavy vehicles makes the single lane road without divider vulnerable to accidents.

Tejwant Singh, a resident of the village, said, “Accidents are quite common on this stretch.” Alarmed at the high rate of accidents, the residents brought the matter into the notice of the authorities but to no avail.

Around 20 passengers had a miraculous escape when their bus fell into a seasonal rivulet. The accidents occurred a month ago and some passengers sustained minor injuries. This was not an isolated accident.

Arshpreet Singh, who commutes daily on this stretch, said the number of autos surpass buses that ply between Amritsar and Tarn Taran.

“These autos hardly comply with traffic norms. Thus, endangering the lives of commuters on this stretch,” he said.

During the harvest season, trucks are parked on either side of the road, which often leads to the accidents. Further, barricading of the road by the police makes the matter worse.

Manish Rambani, a local, said to tackle the issue of wastewater, the authorities turned a part of it to the season rivulet, which has started emanating stench. He demanded that a portion of it, which falls close to Gurdwara Baba Nodh Singh, should be covered.

Attari Market Committee chairperson Seema Sodhi said the foundation stone for expansion of the road was laid over a year ago. However, the project got stalled after the authorities concerned raised an objection and asked to first plant the number of saplings to compensate for the trees to be uprooted for the project.

She said a bridge from Nanaksar to Bala Chak village and a 14-km stretch from Chabba to Mandiala had been cleared. These projects would resolve the problem of the commuters and natives of the villages around it.