Commuting a challenge on Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur road

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, March 7

Residents of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur who have to shuttle between the two adjacent cities on a regular basis are a harried lot as the highway they have to travel on is badly broken and the work on the under-construction flyover at Adampur is lying stalled for the past nearly a year.

Led by Adampur Congress MLA Sukhwinder Kotli and ex-SAD MLA Pawan Tinu, Adampur residents have lodged a dharna at the flyover site on several occasions but to no avail as the PWD has still not got the work restarted.

Kotli had also highlighted the matter in the Punjab Assembly on Monday, seeking a government reply on the timeframe by which the work would resume and culminate. In reply, minister concerned Harbhajan Singh ETO said a grant of Rs 13.74 crore had been released for the highway which should get utilised by July 31.

One-side travel time between the cities is just 35 to 40 minutes. However, presently, it takes more than 90 minutes for any commuter to complete the same journey.

“The ride is completely back-breaking and has caused a lot of breakage of my car. The travel, especially in the night, is dangerous as the potholes are less visible and the road is not properly lit at many points,” Manvir Singh, a businessman from Hoshiarpur, said.

In November, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, asking him to personally intervene into the matter and direct officials concerned to hand over land for the four-laning of the highway so that the remaining work could be completed at the earliest.

Gadkari had also requested the CM to direct the Punjab PWD to ensure that the stretch is maintained well for smooth flow of traffic to avoid inconvenience to road users.

The work for the highway project had been sanctioned by the Centre on February 29, 2016. An agreement with the contractor was signed on June 14, 2016 and the date of completion was fixed for October 22, 2019. However, a major acquisition scam to the tune of Rs 59 crore hit the work and the Vigilance Bureau was ordered its probe. Out of 57.65 hectares of land, only 16 hectares of land in Jalandhar has been made available for the project.

The work for the highway project had been sanctioned by the Centre on February 29, 2016. An agreement with the contractor was signed on June 14, 2016 and the date of completion was fixed for October 22, 2019. However, a major acquisition scam to the tune of Rs 59 crore hit the work and the Vigilance Bureau was ordered its probe. Out of 57.65 hectares of land, only 16 hectares of land in Jalandhar has been made available for the project.

Rs 59-crore acquisition scam had hit work

The work for the highway project had been sanctioned by the Centre on February 29, 2016. An agreement with the contractor was signed on June 14, 2016 and the date of completion was fixed for October 22, 2019. However, a major acquisition scam to the tune of Rs 59 crore hit the work and the Vigilance Bureau was ordered its probe.

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