MOHALI: The district town planner (DTP) has approved the layout plan to straighten the deadly 'S' curve on Airport Road, which has been submitted with the engineering wing of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
GMADA has also earmarked land to be provided to the controversial Gurdwara Mata Sundri sect to be allotted in lieu of the portion of the existing gurdwara, to be demolished to straighten the 'S' curve. A senior GMADA officer (on request of anonymity) said, "We have approved the layout plan for straightening the 'S' curve on airport road. Now, GMADA will conduct a survey of Gurdwara Mata Sundri by visiting the site. Demolition is to take place as per the layout plan. Alternate site to set up gurdwara has been approved adjacent to Singh Shaheedan Gurdwara."
In 2010, when the airport road was designed and constructed, the gurdwara management did not allow the authority to demolish the portion, because of which the 'S' curve was made outside the gurdwara.
With time, this 's' curve attained a mark of a dark spot where 27 lives have been lost. Gurdwara Mata Sundari is headed by Balbir Singh, chief of Budha Dal and has encroached upon the airport road land because of which the road had to be constructed in an 'S' manner outside the gurdwara in 2011. The killer curve at airport road, which has design faults near controversial gurdwara has snuffed out many lives and has been included in black spots of Mohali as 100 accidents have occurred at this spot in the past three years.
The 'S' curve is blind and sharp, making vehicle drivers vulnerable to losing control. Crash barriers installed by GMADA have also broken and illegal cuts have been made, where commuters take u-turn, risking their lives. Experts of bridges and roads department said that the road is straight in the master plan of the airport road and there is no curve. But the Punjab government failed to get the government land freed.
