Commuters irked over regular traffic jams at Putlighar Chowk

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 30

Commuters and residents are irked over regular traffic congestion at Putlighar Chowk on GT Road. Residents say they witness heavy traffic during peak morning and evening hours. Cops on duty, too, feel helpless as traffic lights are lying defunct for the last two months.

Traffic lights are lying defunct at Putlighar Chowk for the last several weeks. No one is taking care of the inconvenience being faced by residents. The cops on traffic duty are helpless due to heavy flow of vehicles. The lights should be repaired — Karan, a Resident

The students of Guru Nanak Dev University, Khalsa College, Khalsa School, Polytechnic College, Khalsa College for Women, Nursing College can be seen stuck in traffic at Putlighar Chowk in the morning. Not only personal vehicles, but public transport including BRTS buses, too, get stuck.

“We provide service with four-minute frequency, but when some Metro buses get stuck in traffic at Putlighar, everything gets chaotic,” said Harpreet Singh, a BRTS staffer.

“Traffic lights are lying defunct at Putlighar Chowk for the last several weeks. No one is taking care of the inconvenience being faced by residents. The cops on traffic duty are helpless due to heavy flow of vehicles. The lights should be repaired,” said Karan, a resident.

Cops on duty claim that they have been working round the clock to manage traffic, but the Municipal Corporation officials do not cooperate.

Not only traffic lights, heavy encroachments by street vendors and auto-rickshaw drivers also cause traffic jams. The shopkeepers encroach the land outside their shops by displaying the goods. Despite complaints, the MC fails to remove encroachments from roads around Putlighar Chowk.

“Students, teachers and employees have been suffering regularly at Putlighar Chowk. The administration should address this issue,” said Gurpreet Singh, former councillor from Kot Khalsa.