Festive fervour creates chaos on Ludhiana roads

The onset of the festival season has brought joy and excitement to the city but it has also resulted in gridlocks on roads causing inconvenience to the commuters because of slow movement of traffic.

Though traffic police have been deployed on several stretches, officials feel that residents should also co-operate by shouldering their share of responsibility on roads.

The key traffic hot spots in the city include areas like Civil Lines road, Railway road, Chaura Bazaar, Police Division 3 chowk, PAU road, Gill road, Haibowal road, Clock Tower etc where encroachments by vendors and shopkeepers worsen the situation.

Mohit Arora, a local shopkeeper, shared his experience of being stuck outside the Police Lines due to a long queue of vehicles. He emphasised the need for permanent traffic cops, posted especially on narrow roads. He also said that despite the Police Lines road being declared one-way, two-way traffic was permitted on this road going against the orders.

Balkar Singh, a resident of Gill Road, also shared her frustrating experience of navigating through traffic jams in old city areas like Chaura Bazaar and Railway Road where encroachments by shopkeepers and roadside vendors are the key reasons behind jams.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that the traffic police department is also facing a challenging situation in the ongoing festival season as they have limited staff strength for managing the flow of traffic. Furthermore, the Municipal Corporation’s inaction against roadside vendors and encroachments by shopkeepers exacerbates the problem, he added.

To address these challenges, residents like Sanju Dhir, an industrialist who is also the Chairman of Ludhiana Woollen Manufactures Association, lay stress on the importance of taking responsibility for parking vehicles properly. Dhir suggested that solutions can be found by effective traffic management, deploying permanent traffic cops on narrow roads, addressing encroachments, MC taking action against roadside vendors and shopkeepers. Residents should show their responsibility by parking vehicles properly to avoid traffic bottlenecks, there should also be adequate parking areas to reduce congestion, he said.

“Traffic police alone cannot manage the city’s turbulent traffic. Let us all support the traffic police and ensure we also behave responsibly on roads by following the rules in letter and spirit,” asserted Dhir.

Traffic Hotspots

• Civil Lines road: The stretch from Rajpura chowk to Pavillion chowk is notorious for congestion
• Railway road: The area is congested with vehicles, causing frustration for drivers
• Chaura Bazaar: Narrow roads due to encroachment by vendors and shopkeepers make navigation challenging
• Police Division 3 chowk: Heavy traffic flow causes bottlenecks
• CMC road: Slow movement frustrates commuters
• Field Ganj: Traffic congestion is a daily issue
• Saban Bazaar: Limited parking space adds to the chaos
• Meena Bazaar: Narrow roads make it difficult for pedestrians and vehicles
• Karimpura Bazaar: Heavy footfall during festivals exacerbates congestion.
• Jassian road: Slow traffic movement causes delays.
• PAU road leading to Saggu chowk: Congestion is a major issue
• Ghumar Mandi: Limited space for pedestrians and vehicles.
• Rani Jhansi road: Heavy traffic flow causes frustration.