Heavy vehicles continue to ply on interior roads, trigger traffic chaos

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 9

Flouting traffic norms, a numbers of heavy vehicles, including trucks and canters, continue plying on interior roads in congested residential areas of the city, resulting in traffic snarls.

Residents of Parasram Nagar, Partap Nagar, Jogi Nagar, SAS Nagar, Dhillon Colony and Gopal Nagar said heavy vehicles had been impacting the smooth movement of other vehicles and pedestrians on a daily basis. They rued that there was no traffic cop deployed to streamline the traffic on roads and things became chaotic during the morning and evening hours.

Birbal Bansal, a shopkeeper in Partap Nagar, said: “Heavy vehicles and even school vans disturb the smooth flow of traffic on interior roads in the area. Trucks and canters entering in the residential area slow down the traffic movement and at times, these heavy vehicles get stuck while taking turn, as a result of which traffic snarls rule the roost in the area. Authorities concerned must deploy traffic cops in the area to streamline the traffic. They must challan drivers of heavy vehicles entering the residential areas.”

Residents also expressed concern over rashly-driven vehicles on interior roads. They said near the Parasram Nagar overbridge, nefarious elements roam-freely and create ruckus and there was no one to discourage such ill-practices.

Navneet Singla, a bookstore owner in Parasram Nagar, said: “Interior city roads are congested and heavy vehicles entering these areas slow down the movement of other vehicles and at times causing traffic snarls for hours. Due to traffic snarls, often ambulances ferrying patients find it difficult to negotiate their way through the traffic.” Though the administration has banned plying of trucks and other heavy vehicles on interior roads of the city, the absence of strict action against violators has made the ban useless.

DSP Gurjit Singh Romana said: “We are working on it and have chalked out a policy to deal with the problem. We have identified areas and solutions to clear traffic bottlenecks on a priority basis.”