Contractor starts Gill Chowk flyover repair

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 16

With traffic jams haunting commuters after the collapse of retaining wall of Gill Chowk flyover, the contractor started repair work on Wednesday. However, he has been asked to carry out repairs as per the recommendations of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said an official of the MC.

After the collapse of the retaining wall on Sunday night, the MC officials had blamed rats for damaging earth underneath the wall.

Superintending Engineer of MC Dharam Singh said the contractor, Deepak Builders, had started preliminary repairs on the bridge. “The flyover, which was earlier under the control of the Municipal Corporation, was later shifted to the NHAI. We asked Deepak Builders, which had constructed the flyover, to carry out repairs. Now, the builder has started work to strengthen the flyover. The main repair work would be started only after getting approval from the NHAI,” he said.

The local residents wanted the authorities concerned to get the flyover properly repaired to avoid mishaps in future. The MLA, Simarjit Singh Bains, and a group of private engineers had raised questions over the construction of the flyover.

“Nobody is concerned about traffic problems in the city even as commuters are facing jams every day. Where were the MC authorities when the local residents complained about weakening retaining walls of the flyover? The administration woke up only after a retaining wall collapsed,” said Tejinder Singh, a commuter.

District BJP vice-president Parminder Mehta said the traffic in the city was already affected with the delay in the reconstruction of the old Jagraon Bridge. “Nothing is being done to provide relief to commuters,” he claimed.

Repairs to be completed in 15 days

• Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Agrawal has said: “I have been told by the officials concerned that repair work will be completed within 15 days and movement of traffic is likely to start by June 1. The traffic police will submit a report on Thursday whether there is a need to shift the bus stand.” 
• Traffic Adviser of Punjab Navdeep Asija said: “There is a single road to reach various areas in the city. There is a need to create more roads in a planned manner to avoid such problems in future. In a city like Chandigarh, there are multiple roads to reach sectors. The Ludhiana Administration should take requisite steps and ensure implementation of the mobility plan in a right way.”

.