Ongoing work on Batala road leaves shopkeepers breathless

Amritsar, December 11

A stretch of the Batala road dug up for laying water pipes is giving a bumpy ride to commuters. The dust raised by the movement of vehicles on the dug up road is making it difficult for nearby shopkeepers and residents to breathe.

Suresh, a shopkeeper, said, “Dust is raised by vehicles moving on the dug up Batala road. It has become a problem as dust settles on everything in shops and also causes breathing problems for people residing nearby.”

He said the stretch where underground pipes had already been laid should be reconstructed to resolve the problem. The work of laying underground water pipes on the road is going on for the last almost over two months. As the road is closed during the work, it forces commuters to use wrong side of the road which often causes traffic snarls.

The road is used by commuters travelling from the city to Batala, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Jammu and several areas of Himachal Pradesh. Residents say the project work should be expedited so that commuters do not have to face problem for long.

Another shopkeeper Kewal Singh said, “There is a need to devise a plan so that people face least inconvenience. Loose soil is seen at places where pipes were laid over a month ago.” He said the work should be done in a phased manner. Before moving to another stretch, the authorities concerned must ensure that all work on the previous stretch was 100 per cent complete, he added.