Gas pipeline work in Hall Bazar affects traffic movement in Amritsar

Amritsar, November 14

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Commuters are undergoing extreme inconvenience as congestion on the main road in Hall Bazar has escalated after the roadside was dug up for laying of underground gas pipeline. It led to traffic snarls with traffic management plans proving to be thoroughly inadequate.

The road leading to the Golden Temple and leading commercial markets inside the walled city remains jam-packed. To top it, the pipe-laying work exacerbated the situation with traffic on alternative routes having doubled. Traffic flow has now shifted to adjoining roads which are narrow.

Harjit Singh, a vendor, said long queues of vehicles were witnessed throughout the day. Due to the pipe- laying work, traffic jams become frequent and motorists continue to honk which causes extreme noise pollution.

Residents lament that the authorities should have carried out the pipe-laying work at night to avoid traffic hassles. Besides, they added that tourist buses should not be allowed on the road to avoid heavy traffic.

The traffic problem has spilled over to adjoining roads like inside of ring road along the walled city, road along the Gol Bagh and Ram Bagh.

Officials of the gas pipeline laying company said they were aware of the high traffic flow on the popular road. So, a small machine was engaged for the job which occupies only a small space while traffic can move on the road. It may have slowed down the movement but at no point of time was vehicular traffic stopped, they pointed out.