Zirakpur Snarl-ups: Poor drainage adds to chaos, traffic crawls on waterlogged NH for 3 hrs

Gaurav Kanthwal

Mohali, July 24

Clear blue skies above and waterlogged roads below, with buffaloes wading through the rainwater, was the scene on the 2-km stretch of the Chandigarh-Ambala highway in Zirakpur this morning.

Early morning showers flooded the arterial road. Commuters had to bear the hot and humid weather conditions as the traffic moved bumper to bumper for close to three hours. There seemed to be no end to waterlogging on the 2-km stretch near the under-construction flyovers on the highway.

The drainage system along the highways is proving a mere eyewash, while the service lanes are unable to take the high volume of traffic on this busy stretch.

“When the road is entirely swamped, why is the 2-ft-deep drain alongside the road dry? The NHAI needs to answer. This is nothing short of harassment to public,” said VP Arora, president, Royale City House Owners Welfare Association, Zirakpur.

Officials of the administration and the traffic police remained silent over daily public harassment on the stretch. Road users pointed out the side lanes remained more of less dry, while the main road, on which the most of traffic plied, got severely waterlogged after slight rain. “Ideally, there should be no waterlogging if a drain is there, even if it is the site for an under-construction project,” said a Mohali-based road safety expert.

Residents expressed fears that waterlogging in the area might become severe after the completion of the flyovers if the work was not done properly.

Residents criticised the lax approach of the National Highways Authority of India in dealing with the increasing traffic on this stretch. Not just morning and evening hours, the afternoon school hours, too, turned chaotic today with snarl-ups and jam-like condition continuing for about two hours.

Accident triggers snarl-ups

A truck jumped the median on the Zirakpur-Chandigarh flyover and collided with a pick-up and a bike. The victims suffered minor injuries. The traffic had remained halted on that side of the road up to Dera Bassi for an hour. The traffic was diverted underneath the flyover, resulting in a huge traffic jam in the town during the school hours afternoon. Later, the damaged vehicles were removed and traffic restored on the flyover.

‘NHAI needs to answer’

When the road is entirely swamped, why is the 2-ft-deep drain along the road dry? The NHAI needs to answer. It’s harassment to public. —VP Arora, president, Royale City rwa

Layout not followed

Poor implementation of layout is behind flooding. From NHAI to MC, all keep their eyes shut to violations. The severity of collision could have been less if crash barriers were installed. —Harman Sidhu, ArriveSAFE