Big Picture: Revenue high but civic low for Zirakpur

Despite a budget of Rs 140 crore for 2025-26, Zirakpur’s basic infrastructure is in a shambles. Potholed roads, choked drainage, overflowing sewers, non-operational streetlights, erratic power supply and dirty water test the patience of residents on a daily basis.

The Zirakpur Municipal Council (MC), which is among the highest property tax collectors in the state, had also allocated Rs 154.6 crore and Rs 151 crore in 2024-2025 and in 2023-24, respectively. Yet, little has changed on the ground. “Where has the money gone?” asked KS Walia, a Sushma Joynest resident, adding, “There is no accountability among officials.”

Locals lament that empty plots on either side of Patiala road have become dumping yards. Besides, power and water supply also leave much to be desired. “The drainage system is pathetic and water overflows from every drain. The water supply too is erratic. At times, dirty water flows from taps,” said Biju Varghese, Exotic Heights, Peermuchhala.

Commenting on the state of affairs, former Dera Bassi MLA NK Sharma said, “What else can we expect when the Zirakpur MC General House meeting has not been held in the past one year.”

Sitting legislator Kuljit Singh Randhawa, meanwhile, batted for merging Zirakpur, Dera Bassi and Lalru civic bodies. “The three towns are growing at a fast pace and have virtually become one, I have written to the government to make it into a Municipal Corporation. At present, the Zirakpur MC has only 25 staff members, which makes it extremely difficult to manage day-to-day affairs. Once these three are merged, we will have a staff of around 300. It will help manage things better,” he said.

Notably, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in June 2024 appointed the Mohali Deputy Commissioner as administrator after a no-confidence motion was passed against MC president Udayvir Singh Dhillon.

Residents say the lack of accountability and vendetta politics has resulted in development taking a backseat. “The Dhakoli railway overbridge project hasn't moved forward. No one is concerned that thousands of children, office-goers and businessmen suffer daily at the railway crossing,” noted Kulbhushan Rai Sharma and Rajesh Dhiman of the Unified Residents Welfare Association, Dhakoli.

Black spots galore

According to Mohali police’s traffic wing officials, there are 16 black spots in the 15-km area in and around Zirakpur.

Among the prominent black spots in the city where precious lives are lost year after year are the busy Patiala Chowk, Chhatt light point, Kohinoor Dhaha road cut, Lohgarh turn, Singhpura light point as well as the roads outside Cosmo plaza, JP Hospital, Metro Mall and the Shiva fuel filling station.

Stray menace

The terror of stray dogs has made residents fearful of stepping out. The residents' welfare associations have expressed concern over the increase in the number of strays. Hospital authorities said more than 10 dog-bite cases were being reported daily. Five residents, including two children, were bitten by a stray dog in Lohgarh in one month alone. Zirakpur Municipal Council officials say dog sterilisation has resumed after one year. On the other hand though, the civic body has failed to come up with a dog shelter despite frequent uproars.

All roads lead to traffic chaos in ‘gateway’ town

Traffic, that’s the first thing that comes to mind when tricity residents think of Zirakpur. Locals rue that the town has been reduced to a “gateway”. Every day, lakhs of vehicles coming from all four sides - Chandigarh, Panchkula, Patiala and Ambala - converge here. Those looking to enter Chandigarh and Punjab have to go through Zirakpur, as do those headed to the hills.

As a result, long queues of vehicles on both sides of the National Highway, chowks clogged with haphazard traffic and restless drivers waiting for the signal to turn green have become defining images of the city. Be it Chandigarh barrier, K-Area light point, Patiala Chowk or Singhpura chowk, there is no respite from traffic jams.

“Zirakpur is synonymous with ever-growing traffic. If you live here, you have to accept it as a part and parcel of life,” said Vijay Malik, a Sonepat native, who is employed in a private bank on VIP Road.

Locals agreed, saying that the town never ceases to expand. As and when traffic becomes unbearable, the government is back building a flyover. By the time it gets ready though, the number of residents and vehicles grow multiple times and it's back to square one. In the past 25 years, Zirakpur has seen five new flyovers come up. And yet, the traffic scenario has not improved one bit.

People are now pinning their hopes on the upcoming Ring Road, but the multi-crore project is still at least three years away.

The Zirakpur Bypass, being built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,878.31 crore, is also tipped to help ease congestion in Zirakpur, Panchkula and surrounding areas by diverting traffic from Patiala, Delhi, Mohali and providing direct connectivity to Shimla-bound traffic.

The six-lane road starts near Chhat light point and ends at the NH-5 junction near the periphery of Zirakpur and Panchkula.

“The main aim is to reduce the travel time and ensure a hassle-free traffic movement in the congested urban section of NH-7, NH-5 and NH-152,” said the National Highways Authority of India officials.

VIP Road fails to live up to its name

What ails VIP Road, the commercial nerve centre of Zirakpur? That's the question one can hear often in the city. The answer that most residents give: everything, literally. Potholes, waterlogging, open manholes, endless traffic jams, haphazard parking, encroachments and mounds of garbage have plagued the thoroughfare for a long time.

“There is nothing VIP about this road,” said Aditya Minhas, a resident, adding that the road was in fact the most mismanaged part of the town.

Zirakpur Municipal Council claims to spend crores and crores of tax payers' money here every year. Yet, little changes on the ground. Residents say living conditions here have gone from bad to worse here in the past five years.

Women complain that the road's poor condition has left them fearful to dropping their kids to school on two-wheelers every day. “The road is riddled with craters, open stormwater drains. Even a light shower leaves it waterlogged. The civic body is good for nothing. It has not been able to properly put in place stormwater drainage on the 8-km stretch in the past two years. The local MLA is also just happy laying foundation stones and making empty promises,” said Diksha Malhotra, a local resident.

Residents say once waterlogged, the app-based taxis and auto-rickshaws refuse to ply on the road. Even the vegetable cart-pullers avoid the area. “Everybody calls it the VIP Road, but in reality, even the manhole covers in the area are missing and sewage water flows in stormwater drains,” they rued.

The stretch from Dominos Chowk to Skyline Park is uprooted and has been in a very bad shape throughout this monsoon. Work to lay a 2-km long pipeline by the Punjab Water Supplies and Sewerage Department is being carried out at a cost of Rs 2.65 crore for the past seven months, but is still unfinished. “The existing 2-km pipeline is 15 years old and is not enough for the needs of residents as frequent blockages, overflow and damage are reported. Now, 16-inch, 24-inch and 32-inch pipelines are being laid and work will be completed soon,” said a Sewerage Department official.