Karnal: Traffic diversion on NH-44; total chaos, claim commuters

Parveen Arora

Karnal, February 12

In anticipation of the farmers’ march to Delhi tomorrow, the police have implemented a traffic advisory, diverting traffic from certain areas along the NH-44. However, this has led to traffic chaos, not only on the highway, but also roads within the district.

Commuters said they were being forced to travel additional miles to reach their destinations, leading to wastage of time and fuel.

Jassa Singh, a commuter, said he had come from Bihar and was going to Punjab. They were negotiating a lot of diversion, with little help from the police. “We were diverted last night at a naka and had to travel around 50 km extra. Now, we have been asked to take another route,” he complained.

Avtar Singh, driver of a truck coming from Durgapur and going to Mandi Gobindgarh, said due to the traffic diversion, they were facing a lot of problems and nobody was guiding them.

Savinder Singh, another driver, said: “I have come from Lucknow and am on my way to Patiala. There is total chaos due to diversion. The police are diverting commuters on Indri road, which has heavy traffic,” he said.

The authorities have claimed that the diversion strategy is aimed at managing the flow of vehicles.