Slow pace of flyover work irks locals

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, June 22

The construction work of a flyover as part of the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway widening project is progressing at a snail’s pace in Jassur near here. It has become an eyesore for traders and residents of the town.

The flyover bridge, which had to be completed in two years until May this year, is still hanging in the balance and is causing a lot of resentment among the local traders and commuters. As many as 766 structures, including houses and shops, have been acquired by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for paving the way for the highway widening project from Kandwal to Jassur.

As per information, this bridge has a span of 900 m and is being built on 31 pillars, but during the past two years bridge slabs have been laid only on 4 out of the 31 pillars. The contract to construct package one of the Pathankot- Mandi four lane project from Kandwal to Bherkhud highway stretch in Nurpur had been awarded to the Mumbai- based IRB Infrastructure Developers Private Ltd, but in spite of taking up the construction on its own it had further sublet the work to a local construction company.

In comparison with this bridge, the flyover on the Kangra-Shimla highway widening project at Ranital near Kangra has been completed and thrown open by the NHAI this month.

The slow pace of ongoing construction of the flyover bridge has badly disrupted all business activities in the town. The piers erected before the shops and poor maintenance of the existing road stretch of the highway have added to their woes. Led by Akil Bakshi, a social activist, local residents and traders demanded that the IRB construction company should undertake construction on its own.

The Chief Executive Officer of the highway construction company, Harpreet Singh, held the delay in acquisition of land and felling of trees by the NHAI responsible for the slow pace of the ongoing construction of flyover. He asserted that the company would expedite the work from next month and had targeted completion by October 2025.

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