Ludhiana: The MC received a set of recommendations from its road-traffic experts to address congestion at 18 bottlenecks in the city, but not a single one has been implemented so far. Civic officials said they will try to implement as many recommendations as possible to address the city’s persistent traffic problems.The experts had flagged major problem points across Ludhiana, including in old city areas, but the MC was unable to act due to multiple challenges. Among the key recommendations was the acquisition of land near Lakkar Bridge, where shops and encroachments were obstructing traffic flow. The team had also identified missing service lanes along Old GT Road near Dholewal and Salem Tabri, and pointed out that a bridge on Buddha Dariya near Pavitar Nagar has been blocked for years because the MC could not acquire the required land to open it.An MC official said they had received the report, but most solutions required land acquisition, which demanded substantial funds. He said when the civic body was unable to acquire land even to open the built-up bridge in Pavitar Nagar, gathering funds for larger acquisitions became even more difficult. He added that it would not be accurate to say the MC had not implemented any suggestions at all. A major structure that had blocked the widening of Mall Road was removed with the support of the deputy commissioner, and the civic body can now move ahead with road expansion to ease traffic. He added that some chowks have also been redesigned to reduce traffic load.MC commissioner Neeru Katyal Gupta said, “It is right that if we have hired anybody for any purpose, then it should be implemented as well. If any suggestions were not implemented in the city, then we can check those again. In future agreements also, we will coordinate with traffic police to implement things in a better manner.”In 2022, the local bodies department issued directions that no new road work should be planned without including a road-safety budget in the estimates. These directions applied to MCs, PWD and other road-construction departments, and aimed to reduce road accidents. The authorities then attempted to hire road-traffic experts, and after floating tenders four times over two years, the MC finally hired an agency in March 2024. Now, once again, a tender has been floated to hire a firm.
