15 years on, work on Baner bridge in Kangra yet to be completed

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, August 7

A key bridge on the Baner river near Kangra town has been under construction for 15 years, with the Public Works Department (PWD) having spent Rs 5 crore on it. The bridge will link the constituencies of Kangra and Dehra, thus benefiting residents of 12 panchayats.

The foundation stone of the bridge was laid in 2009. It is a Centrally-sponsored project and the funds were released under Central Road Fund (CRF) by the Government of India.

DELAYED DUE TO SHORTAGE OF FUNDS: PWD

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• The foundation stone of the bridge was laid in 2009 and its construction was to be completed within three years. It is a Centrally-sponsored project and the funds were released under Central Road Fund (CRF) by the Government of India.
• However, due to certain official bottlenecks and financial crunch, the Public Works Department (PWD) failed to get the bridge completed within the agreed time period.
• Himachal Pradesh PWD (Palampur Circle) Superintending Engineer BM Thakur said the project got delayed due to shortage of funds as the Central Government did not release funds for the construction of the approach roads.

The construction of the bridge was awarded to a private firm and it was scheduled to be completed within three years. However, due to official bottlenecks and financial crunch, the PWD failed to get the bridge completed within the agreed time period. Now the work on it has been left half complete, and residents have been up in arms over the sluggish pace of the work.

A concrete slab on the 36-m stretch of the bridge had already been laid, but an approach road on one side of it is yet to be built.

Talking to The Tribune, a villager said despite the matter having been brought to the notice of the local MLA many a time, no changes had taken place on the ground.

He said the villagers also met Executive Engineer of PWD, Kangra, several times, seeking the early completion of the bridge. He said in the absence of a bridge on the river, the residents had travel at a distance of 10 km to reach Kangra and Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College in Tanda and it took them an hour to reach there. The bridge would reduce their travel time from one hour to 15 minutes, he added.

Himachal Pradesh PWD (Palampur Circle) Superintending Engineer BM Thakur said the project got delayed due to the shortage of funds as the Central Government did not release funds for the construction of the approach roads.

He said they had recently taken up the issue with the CRF authorities again and requested them to ensure the release of funds. He said he was hopeful that the PWD would get funds from CRF in the current financial year.

The SE further said since the railway land was involved, the PWD would further transfer the funds to the Northern Railways for the construction of the approach roads.

“As per the administrative approval from the PWD Secretary, Government of Himachal Pradesh, the total cost of the bridge is Rs 5 crore and this amount has already been spent on the construction of the bridge. Despite this, the construction of approach roads is yet to be done. The contractor had already laid the slabs,” he added.