Unauthorised Kailash Nagar cut a deadly point

Nikhil Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, March 17

Among the 10 black spots, the Kailash Nagar cut is also one of the deadly spots which is prone to road mishaps.

As per a police survey, as many as 12 persons have lost their lives at the cut in three years (2016, 2017 and 2018) by getting hit by speeding vehicles. Most of these victims include pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders.

During the survey, it was found that the Kailash Nagar cut is an unauthorised one on the national highway. It is around 50-60 ft wide and due to this cut, the movement of traffic on the highway is affected.

Fences are damaged at several parts and roads are also uneven at the spot.

The level of one side of the road is higher than the other side due to which when commuters try to cross the road from the cut, they speed up vehicles and become victims of road mishaps. Similarly, there is another unauthorised cut at the Sunder Nagar side.

There are many small-scale factories/mills located on both sides of the road where a large number of labourers are working in two shifts. The labourers cross the highway through unauthorised cuts and fall prey to road accidents. There are no proper blinkers, speed breakers, zebra crossing markings and signboards at the point.

The point also lacks speed limit signboard and speed radar. Drains are broken or blocked at many spots due to which rainwater is not being drained out properly during rainy days.

Dr Kamal Soi, member, National Road Safety Council, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, GoI, said: “This black spot is again a clear-cut violation of the highway code for express ways that clearly states that if a U-turn is more than 500 m in urban areas, you are bound to give a pedestrian under pass (PUP) or vehicular under pass (VUP). The unauthorised road cut is created by commuters because of the absence of any of these. Being an highway, vehicles come at a fast speed, killing and seriously injuring pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders. There is an urgent need of proper lighting and speed management till a PUP or VUP is built to save precious lives on the road.”