Laying of cables leads to traffic jams in Palampur, Baijnath

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, November 12

Traffic situation in Palampur, Baijnath and Paprola towns has moved from bad to worse in the past few days following the laying of optical fiber cables along the road side.

The state Public Works Department (PWD) has entrusted the work to private companies. These companies have been using heavy machines like JCBs and compressors in gross violations and digging the highway.

The PWD is well versed with the situation, but no steps have been taken so far to repair the roads. Accidents which have proved fatal have taken place on the highway in the past two months.

Long queues of vehicles can be seen in these towns daily resulting in inconvenience to daily commuters and tourists coming to the Kangra valley. There are regular traffic jams between Kangra and Baijnath at many points.

The narrow Mandi-Pathankot national highway passing through these towns has further complicated the traffic situation.

In the absence of bypass in these towns, the national highway has become a major traffic hazard. Tourists visiting the Shiva Temple in Baijnath and Sanidev Temple in Mahakal are the worst affected due to traffic jams.

There has been a manifold increase in the number of vehicles in these towns, but the width of most of the roads are the same as it were 20 years ago.

Palampur, Baijnath and Paprola towns have witnessed all round development and expansion in the past few years. Many new housing colonies have come up in and outside the towns, but the state government has failed to initiate new plans for widening the roads.