Third ‘barsi’ of Jagraon bridge closure soon

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 3

As the Jagraon Bridge reconstruction project has missed another deadline, some city-based NGOs and activists are planning to mark the third anniversary of the bridge closure in the coming days.

The bridge was closed for all kind of vehicles except two-wheelers on July 14, 2016, after the railway officials found that the girders of over 100-year-old-bridge corroded badly.

MP Ravneet Singh Bittu had already assured that the bridge work would be completed by March 2019 but the deadlines were extended till June end. However, the project is still incomplete.

As the project is incomplete, traffic jams are commonly seen on the parallel bridge (on the other side of Jagraon Bridge). The NGOs had earlier observed the first ‘barsi’ in July 2017. Following the unique protest by NGOs, the state government had released funds for the project. The MC had later submitted these funds to the railways to get the bridge reconstructed.

The reconstruction work was started in May 2018. However, some NGOs had also observed second barsi in July 2018. The NGOs had offered chyawanprash, milk and multivitamins to the Railways in November 2018 as part of their protest against the slow pace of Jagraon Bridge work.

Gurpal Singh Grewal, an activist, said they would observe their protest in a unique manner again on the occasion of the third anniversary of the closure of the bridge. The commuters are suffering everyday due to the incomplete project, he said.

Rahul Verma of Sambhav Foundation said: “We are planning to observe the third barsi of the Jagraon Bridge. After Lok Sabha elections, the elected representatives are not paying any heed to keep a check on the reconstruction work, which was supposed to be completed by June end, but to no avail. We have been told that the company concerned will get the required material soon. We will mark protest in a unique manner, if the project work is not expedited by ensuring the arrangement of required material.”

Meanwhile, commuters have been using the other side of the Jagraon Bridge for both to-and-fro commute between Bharat Nagar Chowk and the Old City areas, due to which traffic snarls are common

MP Ravneet Singh Bittu could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.