3rd day in row, P’kula-UT commute a huge hassle

Chandigarh, July 13

Commuters had a dreadful experience travelling between Housing Board Chowk and the Transport light point for the third consecutive day. The Zirakpur-Chandigarh road also saw huge rush due to heavy traffic from Panchkula. The situation became a little better after the Vikas Nagar underpass connecting Panchkula and Baltana with the city was thrown open to traffic later in the day.

Heavy traffic on Zirakpur-Chandigarh road

There was heavy traffic from Zirakpur to Tribune Chowk as Panchkula residents also took this road to reach the city. — Hemant, Zirakpur resident

Dhruv, who resides at Modern Housing Complex (MHC), said he had to reach the PGI, but it took him almost 40 minutes between the Kalagram light point and the Transport light point as the entire stretch was clogged.

Varsha of Panchkula said it was a harrowing experience while heading back to Panchkula as she was stuck on the nearly four-km stretch for almost 50 minutes.

Traffic snarls were also witnessed on the Zirakpur-Chandigarh road in the morning as many commuters from Panchkula took a detour to reach the city.

Hemant, a Zirakpur resident, said there was heavy traffic from Zirakpur to Tribune Chowk as Panchkula residents also took this road to reach the city.

Meanwhile, water was drained out completely from the Vikas Nagar railway underpass and was opened to traffic in the evening, which provided some relief to commuters heading towards Panchkula and vice versa.

Manoj Lubana, a Kishangarh resident, said their area was almost cut off from the city as both Kishangarh and Shastri Nagar bridges were closed. “For the past three days, residents had no other option but to take the IT Park road towards the Railway light point and encounter long traffic jam to reach different parts of the city,” he added.

A police official said the bridge at Shastri Nagar light point and Bapu Dham, an alternative route for Panchkula and Mani Majra residents, would be opened tomorrow and it would further help in normalising the situation.

However, the Kishangarh-Sukhna bridge and one near the CTU workshop at the Industrial Area, Phase I, which were damaged due to torrential rains, would take long to get repaired.