Nagpur: The citizens of Kachipura and New Ramdaspeth are facing the brunt of improper planning and negligence of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). An old bridge on Nag river, which used to act as a shortcut for thousands of residents of Kachipura and New Ramdaspeth for crossing over to North Ambazari Road, was demolished partly six months ago even before the design for construction of a new one was finalized. Now, the citizens, particularly students who used the bridge to go to schools situated on North Ambazari Road, are left without the old bridge and there’s no hope for new one soon.
The bridge behind Kusumtai Wankhede hall, with a length of around 18 metres and width of 3 metres, was partly demolished by a private contractor after the NMC issued work order. NMC’s Dharampeth Zone had even performed bhoomipuja for a new bridge in February. Since then, none from the NMC turned up to the site leaving the bridge users in dark for last six months.
NMC’s retired deputy engineer Arun Mogarkar told TOI that it was sheer negligence on the part of the civic body to demolish old bridge even before finalizing the design for a new one. “I inquired with the engineers of Dharampeth Zone who told me that the design would be finalized followed by approval of revised estimate from the standing committee. Once approved, demolition of the remaining part of the bridge and construction of new one would begin,” he said. “It is a basic practice to finalize design of the bridge even before issuing tender for appointment of private contractor,” Mogarkar said.
Engineers from Dharampeth Zone said they were revising the design as corporators raised objections over the old one. “Earlier, we proposed to construct the bridge on single pier. Corporators suggested to build the new bridge on two piers so that machines or boats can move easily in future. Therefore, we submitted the revised design and also cost estimate for approval,” they said.
Interestingly, the NMC had also appointed a consultant for the project that comprises bridge with length of just 18 metres and width of 4.5 metres.
Activist and a resident of New Ramdaspeth, Anil Wadpalliwar, demanded stringent action against all engineers and consultant related to the project. “It is a common practice that the project is prepared only after consultation with corporators and local residents. Giving more weightage to corporators’ suggestion than the opinion of NMC engineers and consultant is simply making a mockery of the experts,” he said.
Wadpalliwar added that such lackadaisical attitude of the civic authorities has led to ministers like Nitin Gadkari preferring to hand over several civic projects to other agencies like MahaMetro, NHAI, NIT etc. “It is a small work and proposed two years ago yet nothing has moved. The bridge on Nag river in front of the mall at Alankar Square too is in a shambles and its repairs is pending for the last two years. Similarly, bridge on Nag river near Mokshadham took four years for completion,” he said.
A senior citizen of Kachipura, Ravindra Das Gupta, said it seems CM Devendra Fadnavis will have to personally look after this small work from the beginning to completion. “I am residing in this area since 1954. The bridge was constructed in 1964 and was being used by thousands daily. Students from this area and also those coming for tuitions and coaching classes from other areas were using the bridge. Students from poor families of Kachipura slum used to cross this bridge on way to their schools on North Ambazari road. The bridge was acting as a shortcut for those coming to Kachipura from Bhagwagar Layout, Khare Town, Gokulpeth, Dharampeth etc. Senior citizens who used the bridge for a daily stroll too have left with no option,” he said.
