Potholed road spells trouble for residents
Aparna Banerji
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, July 2
The potholed, slushy, dug-out and over-used Guru Nanakpura Road, which leads from the Ladowali road to the other side of the PAP Flyover, has become an eyesore for the city residents. While the road has been in a bad state since many years – the problem got worse for the past many years, the situation got worse after it was dug up for draining of rainwater. While some felt that the drainage of water will end half of the woes, the others rue that the delay in the work will spark several problems for the residents.
While area MLA Rajinder Beri held protests questioning the faulty PAP Flyover – residents have also questioned what he has done to fix the road which is already overburdened with traffic due to the faulty flyover.
Gurpreet Singh, an area resident, says, “We were in trouble before the flyover was made and we are in trouble even now. Our woes have multiplied during the Covid phase. It seems as if it is taking an eternity for the authorities to reconstruct the road. Two-three months earlier, the road was dug up to route the stagnant water on the stretch to the main sewerage. Since then things have gotten worse. Not only for the Gurunankpura residents, but also for the city dwellers going to Garha or Amritsar. Since going via the PAP flyover would need a nearly 2 km detour and a long U-turn, people prefer using this road. This has overburdened the stretch and currently all one can see is mud and huge potholes. We dread the monsoons since it will be virtually impossible to traverse the stretch then.”
Goldy, another resident said, “Work is currently on to fix the sewerage connection. After this is completed, the road will also be built. The stagnant water will make things even more difficult. Currently residents are facing a lot of difficulty but after the work is completed – the issue shall be addressed.”
Deepak Sharma, another resident of the area, said, “Ever since we have been seeing the road, it has been in a bad shape. The question is whether authorities know that the road is in a bad shape. They could not fix it even in the six months. What was the need of taking up this work right before the rains? This could have been done earlier.”