MC smells the coffee, plans safer roads

LUDHIANA: The municipal corporation (MC) seems to have finally found a solution to the many hazards that plague roads in Ludhiana. MC additional commissioner Ghanshyam Thori on Wednesday said the MC was planning to come up with no-tolerance zones around 16 major chowks in the city.
The no-tolerance zones, as the name suggests, would be areas where traffic violations would be checked with the help of CCTV cameras, properly marked lanes, blinkers, speed-breakers, and deployment of traffic police personnel.The civic body will be spending Rs 27 lakh on giving shape to the no-tolerance zones.
In recent past, Times of India has been trying to highlight traffic hazards in the city that have led to the death of many people. Despite repeated attempts, the MC has not been able to take care of major road hazards in the city. "We are already in the process of installing automated traffic lights at various points of the city," Thori said.
So far this year, the MC had not been able to improve the condition of roads in the city in the absence of a finance and contracts committee (F&CC), due to a disagreement between councilors and the mayor. However, mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria recently said the committee would be formed soon and the state's local bodies department was likely to approve the committee in the next few days. "Once the committee is formed, it will give the go-ahead to all the major road projects in the city," the mayor said.
The F&CC is expected to clear developmental projects worth Rs 3.5 crore.
Thori said the MC was also going to take corrective steps in connection with blind spots. "Commissioner GK Singh discussed the matter with officials and asked us to take corrective steps," Thori said.
The MC would be installing blinkers at such points to alert the commuters about sharp cuts, he added.