The 25th meeting of the District Road Safety Committee (DRSC) in Chandigarh, chaired by Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav on Tuesday, addressed an 11-point fresh agenda that included constructing an underpass to ease a long-standing traffic diversion between Sector 33, Sector 45 and Burail, averting a potential mass protest by cab and auto drivers, and tackling chronic traffic gridlock outside PGI's new OPD gate. Five of the 11 fresh proposals were moved by the DC office, signaling that the administration is proactively identifying road safety blind spots rather than waiting for complaints to escalate.
Underpass Proposal for Sector 33, Sector 45 and Burail Junction
The UT Chief Engineer placed before the committee a proposal to open the existing road diversion between Sector 33, Sector 45 and the Burail area and to construct either an underpass or a bridge at the junction. Photographic evidence presented in the meeting showed the junction operating with traffic signals, with directional flow running from Shanti Path towards both Burail and Sector 33. The proposal was put to the committee for decision, with the CE/UT office having initiated the technical groundwork.
Signal Rationalisation and Height Restriction Barriers
The UT Chief Architect separately proposed closing traffic lights at the Sector 37C and 37D V-5 road junction and at the Sector 41 intersection on Shanti Path, indicating that signal rationalisation may be more appropriate than signal expansion at these locations given prevailing traffic patterns. Ground photography placed before the DRSC showed a visibly broken height-restriction barrier on Dadumajra Road at the entry to Dadumajra Colony. The proposal is to install new height restriction barriers at designated entry points to prevent the entry of heavy vehicles, which have been identified as a recurring hazard for the colony's internal road network and pedestrian safety.
Traffic Gridlock Outside PGI's New OPD Gate
Another DC office proposal addressed persistent traffic congestion in front of PGI's new OPD gate and the adjoining Sector 11 stretch. A photograph of the junction, showing buses, autos and private vehicles competing for road space on the narrow Udyog Path approach, was presented to make the case for structural traffic engineering intervention. The congestion at this location, where patient footfall is constant and heavy, poses both a road safety and a public health concern.
Judicial Academy Gate No. 2 and Other Proposals
An aerial satellite map illustrated the geometry of the problem at the Sector 42/43 small chowk roundabout, where a continuous road divider prevents motorists from accessing Gate No. 2 of the Chandigarh Judicial Academy directly. The CA/UT proposed partially opening this divider to enable smooth access. The National Informatics Centre moved a proposal for fuller implementation of the PM Rahat Scheme, the cashless treatment programme for road accident victims launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2026. Only 10 of 17 entries on the TMS 2.0 system have been approved so far, and four cases were discharged due to non-response from investigating officers.
School Zone Safety and National Policy Revision
The DC office placed a comprehensive item on school zone safety, covering multiple issues and flagging the need to align local practice with the revision of the National Road Safety Policy, in keeping with MoRTH's ongoing exercise. The meeting also called for traffic and road engineering works on Dhanas Phirni Road and Sector 16-D on Udyog Path, a stretch that has seen growing traffic stress due to its proximity to the PGI complex, the Industrial Area and the Dhanas-Burail corridor.
"The fresh agendas before the committee is a reflection of where Chandigarh stands on road safety, significant progress on many fronts, but real gaps that still need engineering, enforcement and institutional will to close. The DC office has not hesitated to put its own concerns on the table, because road safety has no hierarchy of convenience," DC Yadav told The Tribune. The breadth of proposals, spanning infrastructure engineering, signal management, commercial transport grievances, judicial compliance, school zones, scheme implementation and ward-level issues, points to a road safety governance matrix that has grown considerably more complex than the engineering-only agenda that once defined DRSC meetings.
