Title - Another deadline missed Rainy season delayed work, says MC Commissioner

Ludhiana:
The deadline of July 31 for the completion of the much-awaited Lakkar Bridge project was again missed. The Railways Department had assured the Punjab Chief Secretary that the project would be ready by July 31, but they failed to complete the work on time.The issue was raised by Balkar Singh Sandhu, chairman of Congress councillors, at the General House meeting held yesterday. Sandhu asked the MC Commissioner regarding the date on which the project would be completed.MC Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Verma confirmed that the project was not yet complete as the work on the bridge was delayed due to the rain."I have come to know that the slabs that were to be laid on the pillars are prefabricated. Since they were being manufactured in the open, they were damaged in the rain. We came to know that the factory owner had not taken adequate safety measures. Moreover, July 31 was the date on which the Railways Department had assured the Punjab Chief Secretary that the project would be complete. We will again take up the matter with them so that the project is completed this time," Verma had told the MC House yesterday.

Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria said that the MC had deposited the funds with the Railways Department. "We will make sure that they complete the project this time," he said.

During the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation’s General House meeting held on November 28, 2011, the then MC Commissioner AK Sinha had told the House that the Lakkar Bridge project would be complete by February 15, 2012. “I am personally in touch with the Chief Engineer of the Railways Department regarding the project and he has assured me that the project will get completed by February 15,” Sinha had claimed.

The much-hyped 933.162-meter long Lakkar Bridge project has hung fire since 1997. It is a clear reflection of the sad state of affairs in the state government departments as well as the Railways. The project was aimed at reducing traffic congestion in the city. The Rs 13-crore project to build a rail overbridge (RoB) in place of the 105-year-old Lakkar Bridge was floated way back in 1997 and due to the delay in its execution, the cost of the project has now escalated four times to Rs 58 crore.

In 1997, the civic body had claimed that the overbridge would provide easy access to the newly developed areas and announced that the project would be completed within two years.