Newly laid road caves in near Simhastha venue

A portion of a road near the Kshipra river caved in on Wednesday, highlighting the shoddy work by the administration ahead of month-long Simhastha fair beginning April 22 in Ujjain.

A portion of a road near the Kshipra river caved in on Wednesday, highlighting the shoddy work by the administration ahead of month-long Simhastha fair beginning April 22 in Ujjain.

Army jawans have started erecting pontoon bridges on Kshipra river for Simhastha fair in Ujjain. Four such bridges will be built by the army to facilitate pilgrims cross the river. (HT photo)

Lakhs of pilgrims use this road to commute to the Kshipra river where they take a holy dip during the Simhastha fair. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the road during his visit to the city on Tuesday.

The road was dug up 70 feet at various points by the water resources department contractor for laying pipes under the Kanh river diversion project. The contractor filled the spot with sand and put bitumen layer on top.

After a brief buck-passing by officials, the department is repairing the damaged road.

‘MR-4 will be ready before fair’

Indore collector P Narahari expressed satisfaction over the pace of work at MR-4 (Major Road – 4) site on Wednesday and the Indore Development Authority (IDA) said that the road will be ready before the Simhastha fair.

The 4.5-km-long MR-4 road will connect Indore’s new railway station in Vallabh Nagar, Laxmibai Nagar railway station in Bhagirathpura and Banganga railway crossing and merge into Ujjain highway near Bhawarsla, where the IDA is constructing a temporary bus stand for the pilgrims.

The high court has lifted a stay on acquisition of a portion of Swadeshi Mill land and allowed the IDA to go forward with the works.

IDA chairman Shankar Lalwani said, “Now that the court has cleared the hurdle, we are hopeful that the road will open for traffic before Simhastha”.