No takers for reconstruction project of unsafe bridge over Buddha Nullah

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 4

The work to reconstruct an unsafe bridge over the Buddha Nullah on Old GT Road is getting delayed as the tendering process has failed four times. Reportedly, no bidders are showing interest in the project.

The bridge, said to be more than a century old, is located on the Old GT Road near Chand Cinema and was declared unsafe around nine years ago. But, the Municipal Corporation ignored the bridge and its design for reconstruction was finalised this year.

When the tenders for the reconstruction of the bridge were floated in May at an estimated cost of Rs 5.84 crore, a senior official had stated that the project would be completed within a year. However, the project is yet to see the light of the day as nothing has been done on the ground level. The bridge is in a dilapidated condition from different points and bricks generally fall off it. The safety walls are also in bad condition.

A wall was constructed on the road portion of the bridge earlier this year to stop traffic movement. It was closed for heavy vehicles in 2018 and later for all kinds of vehicles, except two-wheelers.

After the closure of the bridge, traffic from Jalandhar Bypass towards Clock Tower was diverted through a nearby bridge.

Parminder Mehta, the newly appointed OSD to Mayor, said, “I will take up the matter with MC authorities and Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu so that the reconstruction work can be started at the earliest.”

An MC official said tenders had been floated for the project five times but bidders did not participate in the process. Superintending Engineer Teerath Bansal did not respond to phone calls.

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