Potholes on road leading to Golden Temple

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 12

The holy city of Amritsar is one of the major tourist and religious destinations with lakhs of devotees coming to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh shrines, from all parts of the country and abroad daily.

However, devotees and tourists feel discouraged while going down the road stretch from Ramtalai Chowk on the main GT Road to the elevated road that leads to Saragarhi Parking – the only designated parking of the Darbar Sahib.

Though the authorities concerned has done only patchwork on the road below the elevated road, the deplorable condition of the stretch leaves a bad impression on the tourists. The potholed road also reflects badly on the district administration and the civic authorities. Besides, the road is encroached upon by parked vehicles, making commuting/driving along the road a risky affair. It seems that the authorities are hardly concerned to take serious note of the prevalent conditions.

Pebbles, which have come off at places on the elevated road, make driving a dangerous affair, especially for those travelling on two wheelers. Owing to the pebbles scattered all over the elevated road, it becomes difficult for two-wheelers to stick to the road during driving.

“This is the only stretch that leads the pilgrims and tourists coming from outside the city in their vehicles to the Saragarhi parking. The bad condition of the road exposes the apathetic attitude of the authorities concerned,” said Paramjit Singh, a daily visitor to the Golden Temple. “How can the authorities be so negligent and irresponsible,” he questioned.

As per a rough estimate, over 1 lakh devotees and tourists, including foreign nationals, visit the Golden Temple daily. The road below the elevated one that also leads to the Golden Temple from the Ghee Mandi and Shera Wala Gate side is encroached upon by truckers and horse carts. Some time ago, there were big potholes on this stretch, but these have been filled by the authorities, said Sikander, a shopkeeper.

There are also inadequate street lights on the elevated road and no one has ever seen any worker clearing the pebbles from the elevated road, said Gurinder, another resident.

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