After 4 years, Jagraon Bridge repair finally complete
Four years after the Jagraon Bridge was closed for vehicular traffic as its girders were badly damaged, Ludhiana mayor Balkar Sandhu on Sunday announced that the repair work has finally been completed.
Announcing this, he threw open the bridge to the public but Congress councilors Sunny Bhalla and Rakesh Prashar said that the bridge was opened only for 45 minutes on a trial basis and closed again.
When contacted, Gurdeep Singh, railways engineer, who is supervising the construction work on the part falling under the railway’s jurisdiction, said that some final inspections for checking wear and tear was left and it is expected to be completed by Monday evening. “We will open the bridge for vehicular traffic on Tuesday morning,” he said.
NO INAUGURATION CEREMONY
As per sources, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were set to jointly inaugurate the bridge, but Saturday night’s political developments, wherein the Akalis walked out of the alliance, shelved the plans for a grand inauguration.
A SAGA OF DELAYS
The 132-year-old bridge, which is major lifeline of the city, was closed for heavy vehicles in May 2016 after its girders were found badly corroded. Two months later, in July, it was closed for all vehicles except two-wheelers.
This affected the traffic movement on the Railway Station Road, Jagraon bridge, Lakkar bridge and nearby areas, even as the repair project kept hitting several hurdles and inviting the wrath of residents.
For over two years, the project stayed in limbo as the railways refused to pool in money for it. It was only after the municipal corporation (MC) handed over ₹24.3 crore to the railways that the construction finally began in 2018, with a deadline of June 30, 2019. This was extended to December 2019, when the MC took over the project and announced it will be completed by March 2020. However, roadblocks caused by the Covid-19 lockdown pushed the completion date further.
Last week, mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu had announced that the project will be complete before Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.
Traffic expert Rahul Verma said that all’s well that ends well. Rahul, along with other activists, had been observing ‘Barsi (death anniversary) every year, in a symbolic protest against the project’s delay. “Finally, people would be able to commute through the bridge from Tuesday morning. I have urged the mayor that the potholes on the existing side of the bridge, upon which the traffic was diverted to, should be filled once the new stretch is operational,” said Rahul
-
Delhi-NCR sees fresh late-night rain spell amid outages, flight woes: 10 points
Delhi-NCR saw another overnight spell of rain and thunderstorms after early morning showers on Monday morning brought down the temperatures by 11 degrees in 1.5 hours, and also caused air and road traffic disruptions. The IMD ((India Meteorological Department) on Monday evening had predicted a fresh round of showers in the national capital and parts of Punjab, Haryana, north Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh. Here are ten points on the Delhi weather: 1.
-
Rain brings respite to Haryana
The early morning rains reported in most parts of Haryana on Monday brought respite from scorching heat in both the rural and urban parts of the state. As per reports of the meteorological and agriculture department at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, light to heavy rainfall was witnessed in parts of Ambala, Gurugram, Kurukshetra, Kaithal Karnal, Fatehabad, Mahendergarh, Jhajjar, Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Panchkula, Panipat, Sonepat and Jind districts.
-
Haryana: Seven former Congress leaders return to party fold
Seven former Congress leaders rejoined the party in Chandigarh on Monday. Among the rejoiners are Sharda Rathore, Ram Niwas Ghorela, Naresh Selwal, Rakesh Kamboj, Rajkumar Valmiki, Zile Ram Sharma and Subhash Chaudhary, who had quit the party to join the BJP, HJC or contest as an Independent. Besides, former INLD MLA Parminder Singh Dhul, who had contested in 2019 on a BJP ticket, and Kishanlal Panchal of the LSP also joined the Congress.
-
Sexual offences against a child: Parents can’t strike a compromise, rules HC
The victim child and her parents can't strike a compromise in the cases of sexual offence against the minor, the Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled.
-
Haryana: Father arrested for raping 6-year-old girl
A man was arrested for allegedly raping his six-year-old daughter at a factory, which was shut down for the last many years at Rewari's Dharuhera area, police said on Monday. A spokesperson of Rewari police said the man has been booked under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) and the girl has been admitted to a hospital.