Caution before! Nakodar Road preceding the 4-laned highway poses threat

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 15

Before it’s a smooth ride, you will have to go through a real rough patch. A new four-laned highway on the Jalandhar-Nakodar road makes life of the citizens taking to the road from here all the way to Nakodar and beyond (to Moga-Barnala) much easier than it was years ago. However, right before this thoroughfare begins a patch of unkempt, dangerous stretch on the Nakodar highway has been making people’s lives miserable for ages.

A much frequented highway for the city goers, villagers, Nakodar residents, traders as well as the real estate magnates (who have been colonising the area with new apartment buildings every year), the area starting right by the Khambra Gate poses a huge risk.

Ashwani, a resident of a colony nearby the road, says, “For the past three years the road has not been repaired. Many accidents take place near the Khambra Gate. It is very difficult for us to tread the area. With the winters coming, the foggy weather will makes things worse. There have been times that the road is covered up with mud or pebbles but it also raises dust and makes things worse. While rest of the road all the way to Nakodar has been made recently, due to this stretch, which is at a crucial spot just at the entrance of the city, both highway travellers and residents approaching their homes, remain a harried lot.”

Being prone to accident and difficult to navigate at night, it is a cause for the patients of the two hospitals on the stretch. Dr Chander Bowry, who works at the Innocent Hearts Multi Specialty Hospital, says the hospital is bearing the effects as the gaping pothole in vicinity is life-threatening for its patients. “Every week at least three to four of our patients report accidents due to the stretch. We provide critical healthcare but we can’t provide a road. It is a huge risk for serious patients. Two-wheelers can’t even ride smoothly on the stretch because the potholes are so big. The stretch is an invitation to accidents,” he says.

While a brilliant road has been made for the NH 2 further down the road, it is bizarre that the stretch immediately preceding it has been left to the elements.

Ashok, a shopkeeper at the Gakhal market, adds, “There are welding, marble and tools shops here and for all of us this stretch is a huge problem. Sometime ago some men threw sand and gravel into the holes. Since then things have only aggravated. Clouds of dust come up every time a vehicle passes. We have stopped dusting our shops because the dust is everywhere.”

RESIDENTSPEATK

The road has not been repaired for the past three years. Many accidents take place near the Khambra Gate. It is very difficult for us to tread the area. With the approaching winter season, foggy weather will make things worse. There have been times when the road is covered up with mud or pebbles, but it also raises dust and makes things worse. —Ashwani, a resident of a colony nearby

The hospital is bearing the effects as the gaping pothole in vicinity is life-threatening for its patients. Every week at least three to four of our patients reported accidents due to the stretch. We provide critical healthcare, but can't provide a road. It is a huge risk for serious patients. Two-wheelers can't even ride smoothly on the stretch because the potholes are so big. It is an invitation to accidents. —Dr Chander Bowry, from Innocent Hearts Multi Specialty Hospital