Congress MLA Beri blocks national highway in Jalandhar

JALANDHAR : Congress MLA from Jalandhar (central) Rajinder Beri and his supporters on Wednesday blocked the Amritsar-Panipat highway to protest against the district administration and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the closure of Jalandhar side of the PAP flyover in the city.

The protest, which was held at the flyover, led to long traffic snarls on the national highway for nearly half an hour, causing inconvenience to commuters.

In March 2019, the flyover was closed by the district administration within a few hours of its inauguration due to its faulty design. Later, the flyover was opened after closing its Jalandhar city side. The commuters going towards Amritsar have to go via Rama Mandi.

Beri said the local residents have been suffering on daily basis as they were forced to travel an additional three km if they are to go towards Amritsar.

He said the traffic jams increased at Rama Mandi chowk after the traffic was diverted through it. “We will intensify the protest if the NHAI fails to resolve the issue,” he added.

ADC (general) Jasbir Singh reached the spot and received a memorandum from Beri, following which the Congress MLA and his supporters lifted the blockade.

The district grievances committee had issued a show-cause notice to the NHAI project director for not attending a meeting chaired by cabinet minister OP Soni in Jalandhar on Tuesday.

PROTESTS ALONG WITH HIS SUPPORTERS OVER CLOSURE OF JALANDHAR SIDE OF THE PAP FLYOVER