Long traffic jam at Vallah riles commuters

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 18

After moderate rain a waterlogging was witnessed at an under construction stretch of the bypass road at Vallah today afternoon which led to long traffic jam of over 1 km on both side of the one way stretch. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is constructing a flyover bridge at Vallah for the past two years. The construction work has been going on at snail’s pace. The traffic has been diverted to side lanes of the bypass as pillars are being constructed on the main road.

The side lanes were badly damaged as concrete layer of the road washed a few months ago. Also, the side lanes are teeming with big potholes. The rainwater accumulates in potholes. Even a moderate spell of rain turns side lanes into pools. Today, the low-lying area of side lane was flooded with rainwater, which halted the movement of vehicles. Two-wheeler riders were major sufferers as their vehicles stopped on the side lanes. The commuters remained stuck in a traffic jam on side lanes for one hour till the water level did not recede.

Residents of Vallah village and nearby localities have demanded that the NHAI should immediately repair side lanes so that commuters do not face inconvenience.

“The bypass road leads to the international airport. Many air passengers often get stuck in jams on the Vallah and Loharka roads where construction of overbridges is going on. The authorities should speed up the construction work. The NHAI should repair the side lanes to ease the movement of traffic,” said Veer Singh, a resident of Vallah.

“Traffic jams have become a routine affair on the bypass road. The road has been washed away. Many accidents have happened on the side lanes during the past few days, but the authorities concerned seemed to be in a deep slumber,” said Jagjit Singh, a resident of Garden Enclave.