Incomplete flyovers take toll on commuters

Harshraj Singh
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 16

Even after missing multiple deadlines in the past 10 years, construction of three flyovers at Jodhewal Basti Chowk, Oswal Hospital Chowk and Sherpur Chowk on National Highway 1 is going on at a snail’s pace. These areas witness long traffic snarls in routine. 

These flyovers are part of the project to make 291-km stretch between Panipat and Jalandhar a six-lane road. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project commenced around 10 years ago and it was supposed to be completed by November 2011.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2019, MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, along with Congress workers, had staged a protest and forcefully closed the Ladhowal Toll Plaza for a few days in March as the project was incomplete. Bittu had alleged that the toll plaza, which was set up in 2009, had collected about Rs 1,800 crore to date but the project was not completed yet.

Following the protest, the officials of Soma-Isolux, the firm concerned, assured that the work at Jodhewal Basti flyover would be completed by June 30, 2019, and those at Sherpur Chowk and Oswal Hospital Chowk by January 2020. An agreement for the Rs 4,500-crore project was signed in 2008 on a design-build-finance-operate (DBFO) basis with a concession period of 15 years.

Waterlogging is a major problem at many locations, including Dhandari, Jalandhar Bypass and Karabara Chowk, on NH 1. Commuters had a tough time as the highway gets flooded soon in rain due to defunct drainage.

A road safety activist, Rahul Verma, said: “Construction work at three flyovers is going on at very slow pace. Moreover, the construction waste is dumped along the unfinished flyovers at Jodhewal Basti Chowk, hampering the movement of traffic.”

Taking a jibe, the representatives of various NGOs had once written to the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, congratulating him on completion of almost 50 per cent work on the three flyovers. 

Company blames NHAI for the delay

General Manager of SOMA Jyoti Parkash said the NHAI had not got the electricity poles removed from the highway to date due to which work at the Jodhewal Basti flyover was getting delayed. “Work is going on at the flyovers. The NHAI was also supposed to shift the utilities. Once the poles are removed and if there is no rain, work at Jodhewal Basti will be completed in two months. We will look into the complaint of waterlogging on NH 1.” Despite repeated contacts, NHAI Project Director Vishal Gautam could not be contacted for his comment.

Fact file

• Three incomplete flyovers in the city are part of the project to make 291-km Jalandhar-Panipat road a six-lane road.
• The project was supposed to be completed by November 2011.
• In April 2014, the company was asked to complete construction by March 31, 2015.
• Ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019, the Congress had staged a protest against the delay in project completion in March.
• Traffic a routine at project sites.

Residents speak

Whenever any project is launched, the ruling party leaders leave no stone unturned to take credit. But, no attention is paid towards their completion on time. The project has been hanging fire for the past 10 years, but the government has done nothing to finish it on time. When commuters pay toll tax, why should they suffer? — Gurpal Singh Grewal 

I have made many complaints to the Centre, but to no avail. When the project was supposed to be completed by 2011, why did it get delayed? There is a need to construct foot overbridges at accident-prone points. — Rajat Sood