WORK ON BHANDARI BRIDGE BEGINS IN AMRITSAR

MRITSAR: Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu kicked off the construction work of two bridges—extension of Bhandari bridge and construction of Valla bridge—here on Saturday .

Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) superintendent engineer Rajive Sekhri said, “The estimated cost of the extension of Bhandari bridge is ₹15 crore whereas ₹30 crore will be spent on the construction of Valla bridge. Bhandari bridge will be extended by 300 feet while it will be 66 feet wide. The length of Valla bridge will be 2600 feet whereas its breadth will be 33 feet.”

Sekhri said work on both the bridges will be completed by September next year.

The two bridges are among the five projects, worth ₹127.86 crore, the foundation stones of which were laid by Punjab chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh in October 2018 in the district. The other three projects are railway overbridge at 22 number Phatak, railway underbridge at Jaura Phatak and flyover at Sant Singh Sukhs Singh (SSSS) Chowk.

Sidhu said, “When I became the MP from Amritsar, the extension of Bhandari bridge was my dream project. The project was in limbo due to the lackadaisical approach of the previous SADBJP government. Now, the work on the bridge has started again.”

He said, “Once the work on Bhandari bridge completes, 70 per cent of traffic problems in the holy city will be taken care of.”

Local bodies minister further said, “The work on overbridge at Valla Phatak has also started. I have asked the authorities of the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) to get the construction work of both the bridges completed within the stipulated time period.”