Ludhiana, May 2 -- Traffic congestion has worsened on several Ludhiana roads as blacktopping of stretches dug up for the canal-based water supply project has been delayed due to a shortage of bitumen, a key road-laying material, with officials linking the disruption to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Several roads across the city were excavated for laying pipelines under the ambitious project aimed at supplying canal water to residents from the Sidhwan Canal. While the contractor is required to restore roads to their original condition after the work, many damaged stretches continue to remain without resurfacing, slowing traffic movement and causing jams on busy routes.

Project officials said the shortage of bitumen has hampered blac...