Chandigarh: PGI-PU underpass work to begin in October

UT chief engineer CB Ojha said, “We have finalised a Mohali-based consultant, who will submit its report within a month and we are hoping to start the work in October. The project will be completed within nine months.”

The work of the long-demanded pedestrian underpass between PGIMER and Panjab University (PU), which has been hanging fire for over four years now, is likely to commence in October if everything goes well. UT administration has finalised a consultant, who will prepare a report on structural stability and submit drawings as well as detailed estimates for the underpass within one month. The work will begin in October and the 7-crore project will be completed within nine months.

Approved by former UT administrator VP Singh Badnore in November 2019, the project was proposed to provide safe passage to pedestrians and ensure hassle-free vehicular movement while minimising accidents and congestion as around 10,000 people cross the busy stretch every day. (HT File)

UT chief engineer CB Ojha said, “We have finalised a Mohali-based consultant, who will submit its report within a month and we are hoping to start the work in October. The project will be completed within nine months.”

Last year in July after some minor changes to the project proposal, the subcommittee of the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) approved the amended design of the underpass, paving the way for the work to begin. For starters, the sewer and stormwater pipelines will be shifted before construction begins in October.

Approved by former UT administrator VP Singh Badnore in November 2019, the project was proposed to provide safe passage to pedestrians and ensure hassle-free vehicular movement while minimising accidents and congestion as around 10,000 people cross the busy stretch every day.

The project will have 12 shops instead of the 20 proposed earlier. Sized 80 square feet each, the shops will come up on the left side of the underpass, when going from PGIMER to PU. Moreover, the width of the underpass has been reduced from 17m to 14m. Due to the paucity of space, there will be no escalator and only a lift will be constructed.

In its report on the comprehensive mobility plan for the tricity, the Rail India Technical and Economic Service also suggested a pedestrian underpass at the site.

Chandigarh currently has two underpasses -- one between Rose Garden and Sector 17 and the other between Sector 17 ISBT and Sector 22 market. The PU-PGIMER underpass is proposed to be wider than the Rose Garden underpass, which is 12m wide.