Fearing loss of connectivity to city, villagers call for highway underpass

Residents of Makhanwindi, Fatehgarh Shukarchakan and Nizampur villages have raised concerns over the possibility of losing direct road connectivity to Amritsar city due to the ongoing four-laning work on the Amritsar-Ghoman-Tanda-Una stretch of NH-503A.

The highway widening project, which started in 2022, has already altered local access routes, and villagers fear that the road through Fatehpur Rajputan — the route they use to reach Amritsar city — may soon be blocked.

Currently, people of the three villages travel to the city through Fatehpur Rajputan, to join the Mehta road. Amid the ongoing construction, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has created temporary diversions — including a cut near Chhapa Ram Singh village — to ensure connectivity for residents of nearby villages.

However, locals say that these temporary routes do not address the long-term need for a permanent connection. Their main worry is that once the four-laning progresses, the Fatehpur Rajputan-Makhanwindi link stretch may be closed for safety and traffic management reasons.

If this happens, villagers would have to take a much longer route to reach the Mehta road — and, thereby, Amritsar city — affecting daily travel, transport of farm produce, and emergency movement.

Activist Kulwant Singh said the existing road connecting Makhanwindi, Fatehgarh Shukarchakan and Nizampur villages to the main Mehta road must remain operational.

He insisted that the government approve an underpass at this point of the stretch to ensure uninterrupted access. According to him, the highway plans released so far do not show any such provision.

The authorities should reconsider plans, based on public demand, he added.

Another resident, Harpreet Singh, said the road built earlier under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana should not be cut off.

Villages in this belt supplied large quantities of milk, fresh vegetables, and agricultural produce to Amritsar, he noted, adding that the route also connected these villages to the Valla vegetable market.

Closing this link road, he said, would damage both rural livelihoods and city supply chains.

Work on the highway is currently paused, and villagers say they are unaware of what decision the government will take regarding the underpass demand. They have urged the administration to intervene and ensure that the connecting road remains open through an underpass or a safe crossing, so that residents are not forced into long detours in future.