Sacred Heart, Dharamsala, crossing remains choked

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 18

The Sacred Heart School crossing on the Dharamsala-Chamunda-Palampur road is permanent traffic bottleneck in the city. Parents come in their vehicles to drop and pick their wards from the schools. Besides, a large number of private school buses and taxis are also engaged in picking and dropping of students.

Presence of a large number of vehicles parked outside the school on main and Khaniara road leads to traffic jams on the road.

Though the administration has employed a policeman at the crossing to regulate traffic it is not enough. Vehicles remain stationed on roads as parents and commercial vehicles wait for children to come out from the school.

The commercial vehicles that are permanently engaged in picking and dropping students from the school remain parked on the single-lane Khaniara road for the whole day. Since the road also leads to Norbulingka monastery many tourist vehicles pass on the route. School buses and tempos parked along the road generally lead to traffic jams.

The traffic jams can be avoided if the commercial vehicles are allowed to go inside the school to pick and drop students. Thereafter, the school and commercial vehicles should not be allowed to be parked on the Khaniara road for the entire day.

Besides the Sacred Heart School crossing, narrow road in Dari area is another irritant on the Dharamsala-Chamunda-Palampur road. Though one-way traffic norm has been implemented on the road government vehicles often violate the norm that leads to traffic blockade. The casually parked vehicles along the roads and encroachments by shopkeepers, who generally keep their articles and display boards right up to the edge of roads, add to the problems of traffic in Dari area.

The major hotels do not ample parking. The vehicles coming with guests to the hotels are generally parked along the roads. There have been many accidents on road.

Only the vehicles of outsiders or tourists are challaned. Locals are generally spared as they have one or the other reference from the local politicians.