Ban on auto-rickshaws eases traffic snarls

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 20

After the Jalandhar Commissionerate traffic police took an initiative to ease the rising traffic snarls in the Sunday Market by banning the entry of auto-rickshaws in the stretch between the Jail chowk to the PNB chowk, the Sunday Market got a huge relief.

Since the Sunday Market is quite old and people from across the region have been visiting the market to buy various products at discounted rates, the entire stretch used to witness huge traffic snarls every Sunday. Vehicles used to move at a snail’s pace and commuters had been facing inconvenience in crossing the small stretch near Jyoti Chowk.

ADCP (Traffic) PS Bhandal said the traffic police devised a way to regulate the traffic flow during the Sunday Market, in which hundreds of vendors put up temporary stalls between Jyoti Chowk to the Civil Hospital road.

Earlier, auto-rickshaws used to ferry between the PNB chowk to Basti Adda, which was creating huge traffic jams near Jyoti Chowk. Now, the entry of auto-rickshaws have been completely banned on Sundays. Now, autos would take a turn from Basti Adda towards the Football chowk and then take a U-turn from the PNB chowk to reach the Guru Nanak Mission chowk or the Jail chowk. Their entry from Nakodar Chowk to Jyoti Chowk has also been barred.

The ADCP said three teams were today deployed in the stretch to prevent the entry of auto-rickshaws.

“We have also challaned over 25 auto-rickshaws that violated traffic regulations. We will also conduct a meeting with auto-rickshaw unions soon to make them aware about the new directions. We are also planning to install signboards on the stretch to make auto-rickshaw drivers aware about the new directions,” ADCP said. Besides, the traffic police also removed extended shops and other minor encroachments made by shopkeepers near Jyoti Chowk.