Bridge work: Contractor fined multiple times over delay

Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 15

Mehtab Builders of Barnala, the contractor of the Singha Devi bridge that is hanging fire for the past three years, has been slapped “multiple penalities for the delay according to the provisions”, but not blacklisted.

Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) officials said there had been a long delay in the completion of the bridge and the contractor was responsible for it. “The construction work is going on now and the bridge will be completed soon. This year, the work was delayed as raw material kept near the bridge was washed away in the Patiala ki Rao rivulet during monsoon. Contractor is mainly responsible for the delay,” reasoned the PWD Executive Engineer.

He was, however, at loss of words for the delay during the previous two years.

“If the contractor is blacklisted, the process might get prolonged and the construction work would delayed even further. Ab kaam to pura karvana hai (We have to get the work done),” he added.

Approved under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) project, the bridge, with a budget of Rs 4.04 crore, was to be completed within six months from the laying of the stone in December 2020. It has been delayed by more than three years with the work not even reaching the halfway stage. The slow pace of construction of Singha Devi bridge over the Patiala ki Rao rivulet at Nayagaon has irked local residents.

“The contractor and PWD officials have delayed the project. Moreover, what are area MLA and Cabinet Minister Anmol Gagan Mann and MP Manish Tewari doing?” local residents asked.

The foundation stone of the bridge was laid to connect Khuda Lahora with the Karoran link road leading to Singha Devi village.

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