Roudabout at Pakhowal Road soon to check speeding vehicles

LUDHIANA: For avoiding accidents and regulating the traffic passing through Phullanwal Chowk at busy Pakhowal Road, a roundabout has been designed. The radius of the roundabout will be kept large so that vehicles could cross the chowk under a limited speed without running into the the possibility or chance of overtaking any vehicle. The design has been prepared by state traffic advisor Navdeep Asija and according to him it will be a model roundabout in the industrial town.

On the pattern of Chandigarh, even the service lanes will be merged in the main roads just a few meters ahead of the chowk so that it should not disturb the traffic on the chowk. The traffic lights will also be installed at the chowk which were earlier removed for correction of alignment of Lodhi Club Road (connecting Ferozepur Road and Pakhowal Road) and Link Road because the drivers get confused while driving on this road.

The city-based traffic activist Rahul Verma said, “Since the chowk is wide people try to pass from anywhere which results in accidents and mishaps.” He further shared that in 2015 three deaths were reported at this chowk and after that departments like traffic police, Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (Glada), Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), municipal corporation, PWD and road safety activists had visited the site and it was decided to construct a big roundabout to control the vehicles. “We also conducted total station survey in this chowk for better results,” he shared.

While talking to TOI, the traffic expert Navdeep Asija said, “The aim is to regulate traffic such that driver don’t break rules and cause accidents. When the diameter of the roundabout will be large, vehicles will get limited space to cross and they will not collide with each other.” He said traffic lights will help in passage of vehicular traffic from all sides and the middle portion of the roundabout can be used for beautification purpose. “7000 vehicles can pass through the roundabout in one day, which is enough as of now,” he added.

Meanwhile, the additional chief administrator Glada Ajay Sood said they have received the design and engineering branch is examining it. He said if they find the design fine they will float tenders for the construction.

However, residents demand early regulation of traffic in this chowk as mishaps have been on the rise in the absence of check on speeding vehicles. A homemaker, Geeta Verma, who resides on Pakhowal Road, said, “Traffic lights are must in this chowk because nobody knows when a vehicle might come from which intersection.”