Heavy vehicles block narrow roads

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 22

Residents of Partap Nagar, Parasram Nagar and Sanjay Nagar are a harried lot these days as heavy vehicles carrying construction material block narrow roads of the areas.

Since there are several shops located in the area, which sell construction material, these vehicles frequently load or unload material.

Birbal Bansal, a shopkeeper in Parasram Nagar, said, “Everyday, at least 15 to 20 trucks laden with construction material pass through the roads, leading to traffic snarls. As the roads in this part of the city are already quite narrow, the passage of these vehicles doesn’t leave enough space for other vehicles to pass by. There is no check on these vehicles entering and exiting the city.”

Another shopkeeper Madan Singh demanded that the traffic police personnel should be deployed in the area to manage the traffic.

“At peak hours, especially in the afternoon when school buses pass through the area, a tariff snarl is a common sight as these buses often get stuck at turns due to trucks coming from the other side of the turn. The trucks occupy a major portion of the roads, resulting into traffic chaos. It takes at least half-an-hour or more for the situation to get normal,” he added.

Besides causing inconvenience to the residents of the area, these vehicles are also openly flouting the norms. According to the traffic rules, heavy vehicles are allowed to enter and exit the city only between 8 pm and 8 am.

Giving two hoots to the rules, such vehicles are not only entering the city but also leading to traffic problems. The absence of any traffic police personnel has intensified the problem.

Cable operator Janak Raj said the presence of such vehicles on narrow roads of the areas across the railway lines was posing a big threat to the lives of the area residents, especially children.

“Besides going to or coming from schools located in the area, the children also go out, frequently to market, on cycles in the evening hours. Heavy vehicles pose a threat to the lives of the children as the roads are also not well lit and have accident-prone turns,” he said.

Vicky, a resident of Parasram Nagar, said, “Either the traffic police authorities have turned a blind eye to the problem or their palms are being regularly greased by the drivers or owners of these heavy vehicles. Either way, the problem needs to be addressed immediately else the area residents have to look for a solution at their level.”

Devinder Singh, traffic police in-charge, said, “The heavy vehicles are banned from entering the city from 8 am to 8 pm. We monitor the movement of heavy vehicles in the city on a regular basis. We will keep a tighter vigil now and if the area residents file a complaint in writing with us, action would be taken at the earliest.”