Social activist calls for resizing Ludhiana’s busiest intersection

Social activist Kumar Gaurav, aka Sacha Yadav, on Wednesday, questioned the authorities over the new roundabout built at the Bharat Nagar Chowk, the busiest intersection in the city.

Gaurav said the intersection was the centre point of the city and all commuters, no matter where they were headed, had to pass through it daily, but with the expanded roundabout, the roads around it have become very narrow leading to the creation of a bottleneck.

“Right now, the work is still underway, and it would be easy to make the changes,” he said. “I have highlighted this issue with the authorities,” he added.

Another issue that Gaurav highlighted while talking to the reporters is a pier supporting the flyover above, which falls right in the middle of the road.

“While during the day this was a cause of jam, during the night it posed a danger of accidents,” he said.

“I have taken up this issue with project director (PD), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Ashok Rolania,” he said, “although earlier he said that they were planning to have it removed but now he says that it’s not possible.

PD Rolania, when asked about the questions raised by Gaurav said, “The pier can’t be removed, but we are arranging the possible safety measures like bifurcating the road where the pier stands and putting safety hazards on it to ensure that it is properly visible to the commuters in the dark as well.”

As for the roundabout, Rolania said, “The flyover coming in front of the bus stand isn’t functional yet, due to which all the traffic is passing through the intersection, however within a week the flyover will open and if the problem persists we can look into changing the spread size of the roundabout.”

Gaurav also claimed that the municipal corporation (MC) was planning a project worth ₹2 crore to beautify the walls and columns of the bridges and flyovers. He suggested that the MC should allow the public to connect with the project under the expression of Interest provisions.

“I have talked with MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi about the proposal, he appreciated the idea and said that he’d look into it,” he said.

Commissioner Rishi could not be reached for a comment.