Deprived of proper signage, city commuters bear its ill-effects

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 1

The absence of proper traffic signs on several roads in the city indicates one thing – trouble. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has recently completed the construction work of the six flyover bridges on the bypass road. Ironically, the authorities didn’t install signage at new road diversions. And the commuters are bearing the ill-effects.

They often cross the diversion without noticing it. Several persons can be seen reversing the vehicles or returning on the wrong side to take the side road. Consider this, in the absence of a sign at diversion to Verka on the bypass Road, commuters often drive their vehicles till DAV School only to realise that Verka turn had gotten left behind. While returning on the same road they are viable to meet accidents. There is a dire need to install signage on all the connecting roads and bypass road. There are some spots, where cops install small flex boards, to inform about the path and diversions. Despite the direction boards being installed on several roads, especially the newly-constructed ones, signage, however, is either missing or not clear enough to catch an eye on many roads.

The claims of the state to promote tourism in Amritsar falls on it’s back for there is no basic infrastructure to accommodate tourists and no proper signages in the city to guide visitors. They have to ask for directions from residents and shopkeepers to reach their destination.

“Signages are basic requirement of any tourist destination. Tourists suffer due to absence of sign boards. It is a routine complaint”, said Rameshinder Singh Sandhu, a travelogue writer.

A few years ago, the Tourism Department had displayed signage near the Golden Temple. However, after start of the beautification project these were removed. Tourists often complain of absence of sign boards, but to no avail.

Davinder Singh Sadik from Faridkot, who visited the city recently, said the authorities concerned had installed sign boards at major tourist and religious destinations, but the people coming from other districts or states are confounded everytime. “I had to stop several times to ask pedestrians or shopkeepers before reaching the Lawrence road after I had reached the bus stand,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention that in the absence of signage, tourists often depend on rickshaw and autorickshaw drivers, which propels further the case of traffic snarls.

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