New project on four Buddha Dariya bridges will ease traffic snarls

Ludhiana: With the civic body preparing to start construction of four bridges on the stretch of the Buddha Dariya, which falls in the East constituency, residents living around the drain would soon have shorter travel time. After a long wait, the work was inaugurated by Ludhiana East MLA Daljit Singh Grewal and MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal on Friday.
It will take almost one year to complete the bridges, which will help ease traffic on existing bridges. New bridges have been planned on Tajpur-Tibba Road near Mahavir Dyeing complex, Manjit Nagar, Radha Swami Satsang Ghar and across Buddha Dariya near Amrit Dharam Kanda. The bridges will be constructed at a cost of Rs 8.04 crore under the Smart City Mission.
According to officials, area residents take a long time to reach their destinations as existing bridges are located far from each other. This will change once additional bridges are constructed. Even though there are roads on both sides of the Buddha Dariya, people have to cross the water body using the existing 28 bridges. Some of these bridges are in poor shape. The officials had been planning these bridges for a long time but earlier, no contractor expressed willingness to do the work. Therefore, MC proposed to make them part of the Smart City Mission.
MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said that work had been inaugurated and construction would start on the ground.
Meanwhile, as work on one bridge near Chand cinema is being done with the help of PWD, albeit at snail’s pace, officials are worried about the remaining work. Also, questions are being raised on the requirement of these bridges as the one constructed near Pavitar Nagar 17 years ago is still not being used. The bridge meets a dead end at someone’s private property. It was meant to replace the old and narrow bridge, which is in dilapidated state. A proposal was made to acquire some land to provide access to the bridge but it is still pending.
Meanwhile former MLA from Ludhiana East, Sanjay Talwar claimed that due to congestion being faced by residents near Tibba Road and Radha Swami Satsang Ghar, he had proposed new bridges connecting Tibba Road and Tajpur Road to alleviate traffic congestion. He said that on July 5, 2021, a resolution was passed to construct three new bridges at a cost of around Rs 4 crore. The chief engineer also approved the project on September 28, 2021 and tenders were issued. However, the project was delayed due to the model code of conduct.
Talwar criticised the AAP government for failing to initiate the project despite being in power for nearly three years. He alleged that the government was trying to take credit for projects initiated by the Congress government.