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Tribune News Service
Manmeet Singh Gill
Amritsar, July 28
From selling vegetables to running fast food stalls to illegally parking vehicles on roadsides, slip roads along the main GT road is being used for almost every purpose except helping in easing the traffic flow.
Around a decade ago, when the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) corridor was being constructed and the idea of slip roads was introduced, it aimed at easing the flow of traffic on the main road by making these available for slow-moving vehicles looking for an exit.
The boundaries between the slip road, main road and the BRTS corridor are clearly demarcated and four-ft-high iron grills were installed at each boundary to restrict the entry of unauthorised vehicles or pedestrians.
However, with time, the slip roads have become an easy target for encroachments. At places, permanent structures such as vegetable shops and fast food stalls have come up.
At many points on GT Road, especially near Putlighar Chowk, illegal food stalls have come on the slip road. The vendors, by breaking the iron grills that divided the slip road from the main road, have opened the front of their stall towards the main road.
“They have not only encroached upon the slip road, but have also become a reason behind congestion on the main road as many vehicles stop in front of the stalls to buy items,” said a resident, Amanpreet Singh. He said iron grills on most of the stretch have been stolen.
The residents said the area should be freed of all illegal encroachments. “While one side of the slip road is used by shopkeepers as they display their goods on the footpath, the other side is being used by illegal vends. The little space in between them is used for parking of two-wheelers and there is hardly any space left for flow of traffic,” said another resident Satish.
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