Bathinda-Muktsar ROB: Month on, street lights yet to be made functional

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 13

It has been more than a month since the Bathinda–Muktsar railway overbridge (ROB) near the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant was inaugurated. Street lights on the bridge are yet to be made functional.

It seems that the ROB has been inaugurated in a hurry without making full preparation to claim for credit of the bridge. The Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) claims that the Roads and Building Department has not handed over the ROB to it, due to which the street lights could not be functional.

The ROB connects the National Highways 64 to NH 10. In the first week of November this year, the Deputy Chief Minister inaugurated the Bathinda-Muktsar ROB, which was constructed at a cost of over Rs 41 crore.

The Deputy CM also inaugurated the Rs70-crore project of converting the Muktsar-Kotkapura road into a four-lane highway. Sukhbir had then claimed that the ROB on the Bathinda-Lambi road would be a part of a ring-road bypass around Bathinda. It would open the way for rapid development of the trans-railway locality in the city and would ensure the smooth flow of traffic to Malout, Abohar, Sriganganagar and Fazilka.

The foundation stones of four ROBs, including one ROB on Bathinda-Dabwali road worth Rs 70.7 crore in Bathinda, were laid to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will also come up on the same road.

The foundation stone of the Bathinda-Barnala-Dhuri railway line in Barnala and two such projects in Faridkot were also laid. The construction of which was promised to begin in one month.

Inderjit Singh, Executive Engineer, Building and Roads, Bathinda, could not be contacted.

Officialspeak

The ROB has not been handed over to us by the Roads and Building Department and it is responsible for the construction of the ROB while we are responsible for the functioning of street lights. The street lights on the road are working. — BD Singla,  Superintendent Engineer, MCB 

Residentspeak

The government should inaugurate such bridges and allow the movement of traffic on it only after finishing the work completely. Street lights on the bridge are not working and during foggy days, it becomes difficult for commuters, especially cyclists, to commute on the ROB. Heavy vehicles and cars moves at a fast speed and cyclists can meet with an accident anytime. — Gursewak Singh

The construction of the ROB is a laudable move but functional street lights are also a must. The ROB saves a lot of time and reduces the distance between Bathinda and Muktsar, but street lights on it are not functioning. — Kulwant Singh