Construction of service lane adds to woes on Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, December 11

Commuters on Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch are a harried lot due to persistent traffic bottlenecks for the past one month.

The problem began with construction of a service lane in Dakoha, for which one side of the road has been blocked. As a result, if there is any breakdown in heavy vehicle, the commute turns into a nightmare.

Road a nightmare

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This stretch has become a nightmare for commuters as it sees massive jams, especially during peak hours. I prefer to take bylanes to reach my destination. Harpreet Singh, Commuter

Looking into matter

We are aware of the problem. The construction

of the Dakoha service lane has added to the woes. The ADC and ADCP Traffic are personally looking into the matter. Dr S Bhoopathi, CP

Today, an overloaded truck led to a 5-km jam on flyover near Chaheru Hadda Rori (slaughterhouse). Yesterday, commuters were stuck in a three-hour jam as a truck loaded with palm trees overturned at the PAP Chowk.

Those travelling from Jalandhar to Phagwara or vice versa said in order to avoid the highway, they have started to commute through villages, especially during peak hours.

Harpreet Singh, who travels daily from Banga to Jalandhar, said this stretch has become a nightmare for commuters. He said,“The construction of service lane in Dakoha has made the matters worse. This stretch of 200 metres leads to massive jams, especially during peak hours. I prefer to take bylanes to reach my destination. Overloaded trucks plying on this road hold up the entire traffic for hours.”

Rakesh Kumar, who lives near Lovely Professional University, said, “I work at a restaurant and have to commute daily on this stretch. For those working on the establishments on the highway, it’s not possible to take bylanes. I have to take off from work due to jams. For the past 20 days, the situation has got worse.”

“There are regular bottlenecks due to construction of service lane in Dakoha. One side of the road is totally blocked. If heavy vehicles, truck or tractor-trailers pass through this stretch, commuters are bound to get stuck for hours. In case of an accident, traffic hardly moves for hours,” said Rakesh.

Jalandhar Commissioner of Police Dr S Bhoopathi said, “We are aware of the problem. Today a truck coming from Kapurthala got stuck, which led to a jam on flyover near Chaheru. The construction of Dakoha service lane has added to the woes. The ADC and ADCP Traffic are pseronally looking into the matter. The problem is temporary. As soon as the work gets completed, the problem will be addressed.”

He said, “There is an increase in number of trucks overturning due to low visibility in morning and inadequate sleep among drivers. However, if overloading is one of the reasons, we will definitely look into it.”