Chandigarh, July 30
Punjab’s aim to be a progressive industrial state attracting major investment is unlikely to be achieved soon due to its roads that offer risky rides coupled with traffic jams and hundreds of serious accidents each year. The scenario in the sphere of road infrastructure is dismal.

The four-lane facility exists on 287 km of the total 1,749 km of the national highways in the state. Since the Central Government sends funds specifically for these roads, their condition is fine.

However, the problem is that the national highways passing through the state cannot cope with the burgeoning volume of traffic. Congestion is leading to huge traffic jams and is also seen as a cause for accidents. This causes loss to human lives and harms the economy. Things are not going to improve soon as three heavily congested stretches of national highways are not to be immediately widened. Proposals to upgrade the Zirakpur-Patiala, Ludhiana-Moga and Dasuya-Pathankot sections are pending. This is despite the fact that a huge sum is collected in Punjab on account of the cess on diesel. The cess is meant for the improvement of the road infrastructure. It goes direct to the Central Government, which then distributes it among the states.

Congestion is not restricted to certain sections. Despite the Rajpura-Ludhiana- Jalandhar stretch of National Highway 1 being four-laned, traffic is usually forced to a crawl. The busy highway is dotted with towns like Mandi Gobindgarh, Khanna and Doraha and the dry port at Dhandhari Kalan. Slow-moving rehras, bicycles, scooters and tractor-trailors jostle for space with trucks, buses and other heavy vehicles.

Just outside Khanna - one the biggest grain markets in Asia - The Tribune spoke to Mr Mahesh Chander Jogi, who said the need of the hour was the construction of a separate road for slow traffic in these towns. He pointed out that the space for such a road existed in Khanna and also in Mandi Gobindgarh. Without this, the number of accidents would not decrease.

The road between Jalandhar and Amritsar is narrow, work on widening it and having a dividing central verge on it will start by October. This road is crucial for the economy of the state. Since trade between India and Pakistan opened through the land route at Wagah, this section of the national highway will be under strain as traders from places in Uttar Pradesh will prefer this route rather than the sea route.

Another important road crying for immediate attention is the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway which leads to Jammu and Kashmir. This is crucial for security reasons, admitted a senior official. A portion of this highway between Bhogpur (near Jalandhar) and Dasuya is to be four-laned.