NH-44 turns commuters’ nightmare amid traffic jams, delay in repair

Travelling on the National Highway-44 has turned into a daily ordeal for commuters, particularly those plying between Jalandhar and Ambala, due to frequent traffic jams, potholes and slow repair work at multiple bottlenecks.

Motorists alleged that while the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) continues to levy hefty tolls at Ladhowal and Shambhu plazas, little attention was being paid to easing congestion and ensuring commuter safety on the busy stretch.

The situation worsened on Tuesday when repair work on the elevated road at Sirhind was carried out at a snail’s pace, triggering a nearly three-kilometre-long traffic jam.

“The contractor’s slow work brought traffic to a crawl. It took nearly over half-an-hour to cross Sirhind during peak hours,” said Gurprem Singh, a daily commuter.

Traffic snarls are routinely witnessed near the bridge over Bhakra canal on the Ludhiana–Rajpura stretch, close to the Sirhind floating restaurant, as well as at the Sirhind flyover where repair work is underway.

Commuters said the absence of proper traffic management and on-ground assistance further aggravated the chaos.

“Sadly, no assistance is provided to stranded commuters. Some desperate motorists even drive on the wrong side to escape the jam, which often leads to accidents,” said Tarun Mehta, another frequent highway user.

Avid motorist Sukhkaran Singh Gill pointed out that the stretch was riddled with potholes, posing a serious risk, especially for two-wheeler riders. “The highway lies between two of the costliest toll plazas — Ladhowal and Shambhu — yet commuters get no basic safety facilities. The toll plazas reportedly collect over Rs 1 crore each per day, but the highway offers nothing in return,” he alleged.

In October last year, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had announced the installation of QR code-enabled hoardings on national highways to provide details of contractors, consultants and responsible officials for each stretch. The move was aimed at improving transparency and accountability. However, commuters on NH-44 said that no such QR code-enabled hoarding had been installed yet.

Repeated attempts to contact NHAI officials Priyanka Meena and Prashant Sinha for comments did not yield any response.

Road safety expert Harman Singh Sandhu, founder of Chandigarh-based NGO Arrive Safe, criticised the situation, saying, “After paying hefty tolls and waiting in queues at toll plazas, commuters are forced to crawl through bottlenecks. This reflects the insensitivity of NHAI officials and raises serious questions about their accountability towards the public.”