Ignored by MC, these signboards are yelling for repairs

Ludhiana: At a time when Ludhiana is undergoing ‘smart’ makeover, its residents are still struggling to find proper signboards at some of the major junctions in the city.
For instance, the signboards of Dashmesh Nagar and Aarti Chowk are too torn, beaten and broken to be used by commuters and pedestrians. Residents of the area claimed that their repeated requests for repairs of these signboards had fallen on deaf ears.

Mridul Kumar, who works in a private company, said that not everyone is into using the internet to reach their destinations. In fact, most of the city residents abide by the conventional ways of checking signboards pointing to different locations, he said. “With many such boards lying in ruins commuters, especially those coming from outside of the city are seeing a tough time navigating on the roads,” he rued.

Signboards are crucial for travellers and without them the latter is left helpless, said Taniksh Verma, a businessman. “In the absence of readable boards, commuters are forced to stop and ask pedestrians for directions. This can lead to traffic jams and accidents. So, the authorities should now erect digital signboards with solar panels instead. This will serve both purposes of going digital and saving electricity,” she said.

“I was scared to look at the broken signboard at Aarti Chowk as the suspended part is at the risk of coming off and falling on road users. This calls for repairs before someone faces any harm in the near future,” said Paramjeet Kaur, a homemaker.

These issues are being ignored by the civic authorities. The MC must conduct monthly checks on civic installations and ensure people’s safety, the New Model Town resident said.

When contacted, MC commissioner Kamalpreet Brar was unavailable for comments on the issue.