MC has no funds to repair this tremulous 100-year-old bridge

LUDHIANA: The 100-year-old run-down bridge on Old GT Road, near Chand Cinema, will continue to pose threat to the lives of commuters. For, the municipal corporation does not have adequate funds for its reconstruction.

Six years after Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Gill Road, and public works department (PWD) declared the bridge, which runs over Buddha Nullah, unsafe, the civic body thrice floated tenders for its repair in 2017. Even as a contractor bade all three times, the MC did not proceed further due to paucity of funds.

In the wake of residents’ protest after the Gill Chowk flyover’s retaining wall collapsed on May 13, the civic body had closed the bridge for heavy vehicles. The angry residents had sought its immediate repair, saying it could meet the same fate as the Gill Chowk flyover. The bridge is damaged from various points and its bricks often fall on road when vehicles pass over it.

Pardeep Kumar, a commuter, said, “This bridge links the traffic coming from elevated road and railway station road to Jalandhar Bypass. With the authorities closing it for heavy vehicles, the traffic has been diverted to an adjoining small bridge. During peak hours, it gets difficult to pass through this small bridge.”

Another commuter Sanchit Verma said, “It is a key route for people coming towards city. The authorities must repair this bridge on priority.”

An MC building and road department official said, “We had floated tenders to hire a contractor to prepare design for the bridge. As we did not receive a good response, tenders were recalled thrice. We had requested the authorities to float tenders again, but were asked to wait as MC was short of funds. Its repair will cost around Rs 7 crore.”

Mayor Balkar Sandhu said, “I am waiting for the announcement of one-time settlement policy for regularization of unauthorized buildings. With it, MC will have enough funds to get the bridge repaired.”

For the reconstruction of a part of Jagraon bridge, arrangement of funds had become a tough task for MC in 2016. After almost a year of its closure, the state government had allocated funds for its repair.