Push for 4-laning of Patiala-Patran highway gains momentum

Patiala: Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi met Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Monday to press for the central govt intervention to upgrade the Patiala-Patran stretch of state highway No. 10 into a four-lane corridor.The Congress MP urged the minister to approve the four-laning of the Patiala-Patran stretch, which he described as a crucial corridor for commuters travelling to Haryana and Delhi.Highlighting the increasing vehicular load and the need for infrastructural upgrades, Dr Gandhi said the current two-lane highway posed serious safety hazards and acted as a bottleneck for economic development in the region.State highway 10 runs through Patiala and Sangrur districts. It stretches from Patiala to Moonak via Samana, Ghagga and Patran, with a total length of 75 kilometres. Despite linking towns and villages of the Malwa belt to the broader national road network, the state highway remains a two-lane route unable to handle the growing traffic burden.The road's accident record drew concern from commuters and local authorities. Incidents along the Ghagga-Patran stretch claimed lives, with cases registered under rash driving and negligence provisions of the law. Residents and elected representatives repeatedly called for structural upgrades to address the highway's condition."In response, Gadkari clarified that under revised policy guidelines, the central govt did not automatically undertake state highway projects, and that inclusion of a state highway in the central road scheme required a formal request and recommendation from the respective state govt. He indicated that the matter rested with the Prime Minister's Office and suggested the Punjab govt formally request that the project be taken up under the PM Gati Shakti framework," said Dr Gandhi.PM Gati Shakti was designed to incorporate infrastructure schemes of various ministries and state govts, including road, waterways and logistics corridors, to improve connectivity and make economic activity more competitive. State govts could avail central funding and coordination support for eligible projects by routing proposals through the framework.Dr Gandhi expressed hope that the Punjab govt would act swiftly to make a formal request so that the four-laning project could be expedited for public safety and regional development. "Last year the lives of six school children were claimed in a crash in Samana. I had written more than seven letters to the Punjab chief minister urging him to coordinate with the central govt in this regard. However, there has been no response," he recalled.Beyond safety concerns, the Patiala-Patran highway served as a key link for movement of agricultural produce, inter-district commerce and daily commuters connecting the Malwa heartland to Patiala city and beyond, towards Haryana. Infrastructure experts and local stakeholders argued that the two-lane configuration was inadequate for the volume of heavy vehicles, buses and private transport it carried daily.The road previously attracted private sector interest, with construction and operation of the Patiala-Samana-Patran route explored on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis under the Punjab public works department. However, no major central-funded four-laning initiative materialised for the stretch.With the project pending before the PMO and the Union minister outlining the procedural route through PM Gati Shakti, advocates said the onus lay with Chandigarh to make the next move.Dr Gandhi's intervention, however, has renewed the public and political attention on the issue.MSID:: 129612658 413 |