Zirakpur: Commuters edgy as they cross battered bridge

Tribune News Service

Zirakpur, August 12

Sunday’s downpour left the Baltana bridge significantly damaged as the swollen Sukhna Choe made its way over it in full fury. Both two-wheelers and four-wheelers crossed the bridge at a snail’s pace today, making cautious efforts to steer clear of the edges. Early in the day, as the debris of yesterday’s deluge lay scattered around the bridge, office-goers caught themselves stuck in tediously long queues of traffic.

Railings on both sides of the bridge collapsed and gaping potholes as deep as 3–4 ft were formed due to the erosion on both ends.

“Crossing the bridge right now is very risky. There are pits on both and no iron railings. We are devoid of the luxury of having streetlights here. Locals have raised the issue of a lack of streetlights here many times with the authorities concerned, but to no avail, said Sachin Sachdeva, a resident of Baltana.

“It was risky to commute here even when the bridge was not damaged,” a local complained.

“A while ago, a car fell into the rivulet at night and remained there overnight. Passers-by saved the youth driving it in pitch dark that day,” the resident said, adding: “The Drainage-cum-Mining and Geology Department has not undertaken de-silting and cleaning operations in the seasonal rivulet this year. As a result of which, 5-6 ft of silt have accumulated on the bed.”

The choe carries the excess stormwater from Sukhna Lake through Kishangarh, Daria and Makhanmajra and enters Baltana, from where it flows to Bhankharpur and finally flows into the Ghaggar.

Every year, this rivulet causes destruction in Baltana and nearby areas. While the Chandigarh-side of the rivulet is cleaned regularly, the Punjab-side is strewn with waste, weed and silt amid government apathy.

Harbans Singh, a resident of Ravindra Enclave, said: “People who live in the villages along the banks of the choe dump garbage in it. You can see the garbage flowing in it now.”

The Drainage Department had notified the affected area of Baltana as a ‘No Construction Zone’ under the Canal and Drainage Act, 1873. Unfortunately, illegal construction and encroachments along the rivulet have not been removed.

Dera Bassi MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa visited the damaged bridge along with Municipal Corporation Executive Officer Ashok Pathriya today and instructed the MC officials to complete the repair work as soon as possible. “Bigger and wider drainage pipes will be installed under the bridge so that the flow of water is not hindered,” he said. Notably, the bridge had been repaired at a cost of Rs 48 lakh last year after the damage in the monsoon.

Sore spot

• On August 23, 2020, residential societies, a police-post, marriage palaces, a municipal park, some dairies and a cremation ground in Baltana were deluged during a late-night flooding incident.
• In 2022, the rivulet was again in fury, following which the de-silting and re-sectioning of 7,000 feet of the choe, with a capacity of 6,000–7,000 cusec feet, was undertaken in 2023.
• The bridge was repaired at a cost of ~48L last year after the damage in the monsoon.