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Bridge over Gurugram canal not yet rebuilt

An important bridge over the Gurugram canal in Sector 25, Faridabad, which had collapsed on March 9, 2018, is still to be rebuilt.

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Bijendra Ahlawat

An important bridge over the Gurugram canal in Sector 25, Faridabad, which had collapsed on March 9, 2018, is still to be rebuilt. It was an important link between Sectors 24 and 25 that have hundreds of manufacturing units and was expected to be reconstructed in four to five months after the incident.

“Thousands of people, who used this bridge, are facing inconvenience. No one knows when the bridge will be rebuilt,” says Ramneek Prabhakar, general secretary, Manufacturers Association Faridabad. “Hundreds of vehicles carrying raw material or finished goods  to  or from the industrial units in Sectors 24 and 25 have to take a detour of 10 km to 15 km, increasing transportation cost and time. If the bridge is in place, it takes only three to five minutes to reach the other sector; the canal divides Sectors 24 and 25. The local industry is contributing several crores of rupees as revenue to the government, but the authorities concerned have not paid heed to their genuine demand. Not even one brick has been laid in the past 10 months,” says another entrepreneur. He adds that though the local administration had claimed immediately after the decades-old bridge collapsed that it would be rebuilt within four months, there has hardly been any progress.

Over 12 vehicles had a narrow escape when the bridge collapsed around 5 pm on March 9. It had fractured into two parts and the road was severely damaged, leaving vehicles stuck on both sides. Some heavy vehicles stuck in the middle were removed with the help of cranes. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident. 

“The absence of the bridge is leading to traffic chaos every day and a heavy rush on alternative roads even during lean hours,” says Ajay Juneja, an industrialist. “If the authorities concerned do not take such an important project seriously, one can imagine how much time it will take to make Faridabad a smart city,” says Col S. Kapoor (Retd), Executive Director, Faridabad Industries Association.  

VS Rawat, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department, says that the work on a new six-lane bridge is on and it is expected to be ready within three to four months. “The piling work on one side of the bridge has been completed, and the remaining work will be finished soon,” he says. The department is spending Rs 6 crore on the bridge, which will be much wider and better, he adds.

Narrow escape

Over 12 vehicles had a narrow escape when the bridge collapsed around 5 pm on March 9. It had fractured into two parts and the road was severely damaged, leaving vehicles stuck on both sides. Some heavy vehicles stuck in the middle were removed with the help of cranes. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident. .

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