Call to reopen Chakki bridge

NURPUR, OCTOBER 5

After the withdrawal of the monsoon, the demand to re-open the inter-state Chakki bridge at Kandwal in Nurpur for vehicular traffic, especially light passenger vehicles, is gaining momentum.

The residents of Kandwal, Baranda, Khanni, Baduee, Giora and Jassur gram panchayats and daily commuters visiting Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh and Pathankot district in the neighbouring Punjab are a harried lot as they have to travel additional 15 to 30 kilometres (up and down) to reach their destination by using alternative route — Kandwal-Lodhwan- Pathankot link road.

The local administration has diverted traffic of light and heavy vehicles from this link road after closure of the bridge. A barricade has been put up at Kandwal barrier in Nurpur on the Pathankot-Mandi national highway-154.

The patients taking treatment in private hospitals at Pathankot are the worst sufferers as in an emergency precious time and money are wasted in reaching these hospitals.

Rajiv Raju, president of Veopar Mandal, Jassur, near here, and Market Welfare Committee, Jassur vice-chairman Rakesh Bharti, lamented that there was no justification in keeping the bridge closed after the withdrawal of the monsoon as small quantity of water flowing in the Chakki rivulet would not harm its pillars.

Elected representatives of surrounding gram panchayats and traders of Jassur, the famous wholesale trading hub in Kangra district, have appealed to the Kangra administration to intervene and ensure early opening of the bridge and restoration of vehicular traffic.

The NHAI through its road construction private company had undertaken protection work by garlanding two pillars of the bridge that had been exposed and diverted rivulet course by keeping the bridge closed for 25 days until September 18.

Lakhs of rupees were spent on raising embankment around the exposed pillars went down the drain as iron wires and hard stones used in garlanding the pillars were washed away on September 25 following flash flood triggered by heavy rain, forcing the NHAI to close the bridge again just after eight days of its opening.

Anil Sen, project director of the NHAI, Palampur, told The Tribune that a team of the NHAI led by Manoj Kumar, NHAI headquarters project member, had inspected the condition of the pillars of Chakki bridge on Tuesday.

In order to save the bridge, the NHAI after consulting technical experts will adopt advanced technology and work out a strategy to save the bridge.

He said that the NHAI was aware of the inconvenience being faced by the people after its closure and the bridge would be opened for light passenger vehicles soon.

Shut on Sept 25

• Commuters have to travel 15 to 30 km more by using alternative Kandwal- Lodhwan-Pathankot link road
• The NHAI closed the bridge eight days after its opening
• Iron wires and hard stones used in garlanding the pillars were washed away on September 25 following flash flood