Finally, 14-km cement concrete roads laid in industrial focal points at cost of Rs 25.2 cr
Nitin Jain
Ludhiana, June 23
Finally, cement concrete roads have been laid across the length and breadth of industrial focal points in Ludhiana, the government has said. “The work to relay 14.12-km roads across six phases of the industrial focal points at the cost of Rs 25.2 crore has been completed,” officials confirmed.
Committed to provide best infra: MP
}Major demand of industrialists has been met with the road reconstruction project. Our government is committed to provide best infra, facilities and work environment to industries. — Sanjeev Arora, Rajya Sabha MP
The development assumes significance as majority of roads in focal points of the industrial and financial capital of the state remained broken for the past several decades, causing inconvenience to industrialists, workers and residents of the industrial areas.
The funds were released by the state government after Ludhiana Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora took up the matter with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and impressed upon him to release much-needed amount to reconstruct roads in focal points owned and maintained by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC).
Sharing details, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member of the Upper House of Parliament from Punjab told The Tribune, on Saturday, that the road construction work was almost complete. He said five of the total six road projects were already complete while the remaining in Jeevan Nagar, Phase 5, was in the advanced stage of completion.
The work was allotted at the cost of Rs 25.23 crore, which was Rs 6.59 crore less than the tender amount of Rs 31.82 crore, to reconstruct 16-km long six main roads with cement concrete in focal points of the city.
Arora, who reviewed the progress of the project here recently, said a time limit ranging between two months and 9 months had been fixed to complete the road construction work as per the laid down specifications and quality standards.
According to details, the roads measuring 5.35-km in Phase V were built at the cost of Rs 8.7 crore, 1.14-km-long Hosiery Knitwear Road adjoining Phase VI at Rs 1.76 crore, 0.33-km-long stretch of service road heading towards highway adjoining industry, Phase VII, at Rs 67 lakh, 3.81-km-long road in Phase VIII at Rs 5.68 crore and another 1.29-km-long road in Phase VIII was re-laid at the cost of Rs 2.01 crore. An amount of Rs 6.38 crore would be spent on a 2.2-km-long road in Jeevan Nagar with two lanes of 22-foot-wide each in Phase V. Eighty per cent of work in Jeevan Nagar was complete, the MP said.
Arora said 97 per cent of the total work had already been completed and the balance three per cent work would be finished within the next few days. He said a sum of Rs 23.92 crore had already been spent on the ongoing work while the remaining amount of Rs 1.28 crore would be released as per the progress of the work.
Low cost, long life
Experts said concrete cement roads, commonly known as CC roads, were known for their durability, strength, and low maintenance cost. Constructed using a mixture of cement, water, and aggregates, these roads were compacted and cured to form a hard and sturdy surface.
According to them, as compared to asphalt, which typically requires resurfacing or complete repairs every 10 to 12 years, a concrete road had a lifespan of 20 to 30 years and required minimal maintenance, resulting in lower maintenance costs.
