Motorists gasp for breath as road in Zirakpur turns into dust bowl

Satinder Pal Singh
Dera Bassi, May 1

Re-carpeting road work carried out by a contractor of the authorities concerned on the Nagla stretch has evoked strong resentment from local residents and commuters.

Not only dust rising from the road is literally suffocating commuters and pedestrians, but also re-carpeting work on the remaining stretch has been left midway leading to inconvenience to motorists.

The road is already narrow and the sand is spread for nearly two feet on both sides putting the lives of commuters at risk. Residents living nearby have been complaining of breathing problems and other health complications caused by the excessive dust emanating on the road.

Such is the situation that if one vehicle passes, other vehicles have to wade their way carefully through the thick smoke of dust engulfing the road.

Hundreds of vehicles, including two-wheelers, pass through this road daily. The residents alleged that they were unable to drive with windows rolled down while two-wheeler riders had to cover their faces while passing through this 1-km stretch.

Even parents, who came to drop their wards to one of the schools located on the Singhpura-Nagla road here, had to face hardships. It becomes herculean task for them to cross around one-km stretch to reach the school due to the huge dust.

Meenu Grover, a local resident, alleged: “It is a matter of serious negligence and strict action should be taken against the contractor. Who will be responsible if any mishap takes place due to the uneven and left-out road?”.

Pointing out at the condition of the entire stretch up to Nagla village, parents of the wards had alleged that the road is too narrow that only one car from either side can pass at a time. And at a few bends, that is also difficult. If two huge vehicles come from the opposite side, they get stuck and leads to traffic jam, they rued.

When contacted, Kulwinder Sohi, president of the Municipal Council, Zirakpur, said he was not aware of the development, adding that he would look into the matter and get it checked at the earliest.