Meant to ease traffic flow, underpass near Sahnewal being used for parking vehicles

The underpass of the railway overbridge of Sahnewal is used less for passage and more for illegal parking. Not caring two hoots about a written warning by the council and traffic police, the vehicles are parked beneath the underpass for the entire day and in some cases even for longer durations.

What is most problematic is that while these car owners most conveniently park their vehicles under the bridge, the traffic literally tries to find space to pass through and on finding none, has to make a whole round of the market to finally reach their destination. The whole traffic jostles for space, but the ones who park the vehicles remain unmoved.

“The drivers park their vehicles at will and block the passage to the extent that almost all the time the passersby have to take an alternate route. The underpass is simply serving no purpose at all to commuters as the vehicle drivers, it seems, have made it their permanent abode” rued Rajiv Kapila, whose shop is in the nearby grain market of Sahnewal and whose transport vehicles generally face problem due to no space at all to pass under the bridge.

“This is really ridiculous. Is there no authority to check the authoritative attitude of the four-wheeler or for that matter even two-wheeler owners? Every day they watch the hassles we face while crossing under the bridge due to wrong parking, but they are least bothered to make way or clear the passage illegally occupied by them,” shared another commuter.

“The authorities concerned till date have not felt the need to check them and stop them from parking their vehicles on the road meant just for passing and not parking. The space is so narrow that a when commuter, who is unaware of the wrongly parked vehicle, tries to drive through cannot turn back as the traffic behind comes to a sudden halt,” he added.

Traffic in charge Inspector Davinder Kaur said that most of these vehicles were of the shopkeepers themselves who park these early in the morning till late at night. “We have vacated the underpass several times, but in no time the situation is back to square one. Now, we are going to act tough. Illegal parking shall be definitely stopped. I will personally look into the matter and the drivers will be fined for parking their vehicles there. Commuters cannot be made to suffer,” he added.