At last, the Chandigarh-Zirakpur road (Airport Chowk) would have an Automatic Traffic Signal (ATS), which was made functional today.

The installation of the ATS was hanging fire since the UT Administration’s Superintendent Engineer (Electrical) V.P. Dhingra was arrested for seeking bribe for the installation of the same.

Due to the frequent accidents on the highway, the demand for having an ATS was raised not only by the residents but also by the UT Police Department.

It may be recalled that Dhingra was arrested on August 3 after he had allegedly demanded Rs 20,000 bribe from a city-based contractor. The contractor had applied for a contract for installation of the signal.

Dhingra, who was in charge of the electrical wing of Chandigarh Administration, allegedly asked the contractor to first get the ATS’s test report approved from the Government of India, which the contractor did and submitted the report to Dhingra.

However, Dhingra still did not allot him the letter, following which, the contractor moved a written complaint to CBI. Dhingra’s arrest meant good news for the highway users as the signal was finally made functional.