Roads leading to Golden Temple in bad shape

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, September 18

The main road leading to the Golden Temple from Ghee Mandi Chowk is in bad shape. Commuters and tourists face a lot of inconvenience due to such pothole-ridden roads in the city.

Though the Mayor and Municipal Corporation (MC) officials often claim to have maintained all roads leading to the Golden Temple, almost all roads leading to the shrine are in pathetic condition.

More than one lakh devotees and tourists visit the Golden Temple daily. The condition of the elevated road is also not good. Most of the visitors use the Ghee Mandi route to reach the parking near the Heritage Street and face a lot of problems due to potholes. Due to these, a number of road mishaps also occur, which is also a major cause for concern.

The recently constructed smart junction has also started deforming. The bricks used for its construction can be often found scattered on the road which lead to accidents.

However, Minister of Local Bodies Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu are claiming that the long pending road project of Rs 46 crore will be implemented soon but the residents are at the receiving end due to these potholed roads.

“The MC authorities must look into the issue and get the needful done immediately. These pose a threat to commuters,” said Amit Kumar of the New Amritsar area.

“Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu had announced recarpeting of the roads leading to the Golden Temple four years back. Work on some of the roads was undertaken but a number of stretches are still in bad condition. In view of the inconvenience faced by commuters, the roads leading to the Golden Temple should be repaired at the earliest,” said Kuljit Singh, a resident of Tabowali.