Shortage of river sand slowdowns construction work at three schools

The construction work at three government schools- Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU, Cemetery Road and Model Town in Ludhiana has been badly affected due to big shortage of river sand in the entire state.

The construction work at three government schools- Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU, Cemetery Road and Model Town in Ludhiana has been badly affected due to big shortage of river sand in the entire state.

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In all three schools, the work had started in February and the contractor was given nine-month time to complete the construction. However, during a visit to these schools, HT found that the work at all three schools was going at a snail's pace.

It may be recalled that on January 31, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had visited these schools and declared them unsafe. He had also directed the public works department (PWD) to construct the new buildings within the period of nine months.

The work at the PAU school has slowed down due to shortage of sand. However, workers said they were confident that they would be able to meet deadline if the material is provided on time. As many as 23 new classrooms would be built at the school.

A parent Riya Joshi, whose daughter studies in the school, said, "The level of new building is lower than the road that allows rainwater to enter in classrooms. The authorities should raise this issue with the contractor."

One of the officials at Model Town School said, "The construction work at the ground floor will complete after electrical fitting and floor finishing."

When contacted, contractor, public works department, Parvinder Singh Saini, said, "There is a huge shortage of river sand, due to which the pace of work has slowed down. Though the deadline to finish the work is December 15, it will be difficult for us to meet it if the shortage continues."