* Siswan-Baddi road opened for traffic * City commuters to travel 24 km less to reach Baddi

With the much-awaited Siswan-Baddi road thrown open to traffic on Wednesday, Chandigarh has come closer to Baddi, a major industrial hub of Himachal Pradesh.

The 5.23 kilometres stretch, which establishes another direct road link between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, has been constructed in seven years. It will reduce the distance between Chandigarh and Baddi by 24 km.

The stretch connects NH-21 in Punjab with NH-21A, on which Baddi and Shimla are located, in Himachal Pradesh.

Now, Chandigarh commuters can take a shorter and wider road instead of the congested Panchkula-Pinjore road to reach Baddi and Shimla. They will reach Baddi after travelling 23 km via Majra and Siswan.

Similarly, commuters from Mohali, Kharar, Kurali and other towns on NH-21 in Punjab will travel 47 km less to reach Baddi and Shimla.

Also, commuters from most parts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir will not have to cross Mohali, Chandigarh and Panchkula to reach Baddi and Shimla. Traffic heading to NH-21-A from Ropar and Ludhiana will turn from Kurali and travel 29 km to reach Baddi.

With the link, the killer Mohali-Kharar stretch and the Chandigarh-Panchkula-Pinjore road will also get decongested.

Punjab Public Works Department Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa inaugurated the Rs 12.14 crore inter-state project.

Of the 29.07 km road from Kurali to Baddi, 16.84 km stretch had been upgraded earlier under the Central Road Fund scheme.

Official apathy hiked project cost
Earlier, official apathy had ensured that the cost of the project was increased by over 50 per cent.

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