Zirakpur set to get facelift

Satinder Pal Singh

Zirakpur, March 13

Being the gateway to Chandigarh and other neighbouring states, Zirakpur town is set to get a facelift soon if the district authority’s ambitious beautification plan translates into reality.

Mohali Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra here today asked KL Sachdeva, director of the National Highways Authority of India, and Iqbal Singh, chief project manager of GMR Ambala-Chandigarh Expressway Private Limited, to prepare a feasibility report for beautification of the town and to submit the same within a week so that the work could be started in the first week of April.

The administration has also fixed responsibilities of other departments, including Municipal Council, Zirakpur, in this project. The idea is to beautify the open spaces under the flyover, besides covering the entire 2.7-km stretch of the road with flowering plants and trees from the Chandigarh border till the jurisdiction of the MC limits. It will be done in compliance with the NHAI specifications and policies.

Maintenance of the beautified stretch will be the responsibility of the council and it would be out of bounds for hoardings and advertisements.

The district administration vowed to beautify Zirakpur town through an integrated master plan. As part of the plan, beautification of flyovers, construction of toilets on the Zirakpur-Patiala stretch and saplings of chosen varieties will be planted as per a pre-approved sketch.

NHAI officials have been asked to appoint an architect-consultant to come up with a comprehensive plan to beauty the spaces under the flyover as different themes and other innovation work would be initiated to make the place more appealing.

Another highlight of the project will be the transformation of the façade ahead of shops in the town and their signboards would be painted in an identical manner to bring uniformity as per the specifications.

The Deputy Commissioner has also directed the officials of the Zirakpur MC to coordinate with the shop owners and to seek help from them and a committee was also formed under the headship of Amninder Kaur, SDM, Dera Bassi, for the same.

After the meeting, the DC, along with officials, also visited the site where work on Rs 200-crore centre of excellence for disability sports would be developed on the Brazilian model at Dyalpura village here.

The DC also appealed to residents to make this campaign a success as it is connected with the beautification of the town.

KL Sachdeva, Project Director, NHAI, said: “We have been asked to prepare a report regarding the beautification of the flyover by the district administration. The report would be sent to the higher-ups. After getting approvals, we will begin the beautification work”.

Admn fixes responsibilities of departments

The administration has also fixed responsibilities of other departments, including Municipal Council, Zirakpur, in this project. The idea is to beautify the open spaces under the flyover, besides covering the entire 2.7-km stretch of the road with flowering plants and trees from the Chandigarh border till the jurisdiction of the MC limits. It will be done in compliance with the NHAI specifications and policies.