Trucks stranded outside warehouses hinder traffic

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 24

Hundreds of trucks carrying wheat bags from grain markets are stranded on the Chheharta-Dhand road outside warehouses. These are posing a problem for the smooth flow of traffic in the area.

A 5-km stretch on the road has three warehouses which store agricultural produce till it is transported to other parts of the country on trains from Chheharta railway station.

As the workforce at the warehouses takes time to unload the wheat bags from the trucks, the vehicles remain stranded on road, sometimes for days together, before their turn comes.

However, as the trucks occupy most of the road, other vehicles are often caught in traffic jams. “It would be better if trucks are parked on vacant wheat fields near the warehouses as this way the road could be left free for traffic,” said Jatinder Singh, a local resident.

He said the area residents had to face problems for most of the year due to the large number trucks transporting the produce to warehouses and then from warehouses to the railway station.

The dust displaced by the heavy vehicles is also a cause of concern for the houses built alongside the road.

“We cannot even open the windows facing the road because of the dust,” said Nirmal Kaur, a housewife.

The commuters demanded that the administration must take steps to ensure that the trucks are parked in vacant fields while they wait for their turn at the warehouse. “It is the duty of warehouse managements to arrange parking space for the trucks. If the road is to be used for parking of trucks, where would other vehicles go,” complained another commuter.

The vehicles coming from both sides have to wait for long as only a narrow portion is available for them and most of the road has been occupied by trucks. The commuters complained that in absence of any traffic management, if drivers from both sides show little patience and let other pass first, the entire traffic comes to a standstill.