Nine black spots identified on BRTS route

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 23

After a couple lost their lives as the bike they were riding on collided with iron grills of a BRTS corridor station, traffic experts have expressed concern over the faulty design of the BRTS.

A committee constituted by the state government has identified nine black spots on the 31-km-long BRTS corridor.

Navdeep Asija, Traffic Advisor, Punjab, said,” After completing the study, we have identified nine black spots on the BRTS road. We have identified 30 black spots in the holy city. We have written to the Public Works Department to take appropriate action to prevent accidents.”

The PWD authorities did not pay heed to the recommendation of the Traffic Advisor.

On the BRTS corridor, more than 24 commuters have died in the past three years.

Black spots have been identified at Bhandari Bridge, BRTS station outside the railways station, Valmiki Chowk, Putaligarh Chowk, Civil Hospital, Ramtalai Chowk, Husainpura Chowk, Mall Mandi Chowk and outside Alpha Mall.

The experts claimed that lack of proper signage, reflectors and other safety infrastructure led to accidents on the BRTS corridor. Grills of the BRTS corridor are missing from several points. Some broken grills are lying toward the road, leading to accidents.

The Traffic Advisor said after the notification of the amended Motor Vehicle Act, there was a provision to sue the government agency and the contractor for the faulty design of the road project.

About black spot 

• Navdeep Asija, Traffic Advisor, Punjab, said according to guidelines of the government, a spot where 10 deaths or five major accidents had been reported in three years was considered to be a black spot. Nine black spots on one route of the city is quite a serious issue, he added.