Elevated road project: NHAI baffled as re-carpeted road gets dug up overnight in Ludhiana
The NHAI is currently constructing the elevated road stretch near the point in Ludhiana and as per rules, permission has to be granted by the NHAI for any work related to any work on the particular road
In a covert move, workers of an under-construction shopping complex on the Ferozepur road dug up a newly re-carpeted road by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in the wee hours of Wednesday, leaving both the city municipal corporation and the NHAI baffled over the development.
The newly-constructed slip road was dug to lay 70 metre long sewerage line right under the nose the municipal corporation.
The NHAI is currently constructing the elevated road stretch near the point and as per rules, permission has to be granted by the NHAI for any work related to any work on the particular road.
The illegal digging right under the nose the municipal corporation choked the traffic for around an hour on the road near the Bhai Bala intersection.
Municipal commissioner Shena Aggarwal, when contacted, said that she will be checking on the issue and if any anomaly is found, strict action will be taken.
“I will look into the issue and surely take action,” she said.
Sources said a notice has already been issued to the company by the MC and while the owner of the complex had taken MC’s permission to lay the sewer and also paid a fee amounting to ₹1.5 lakh, the MC officials failed to inform the applicant that it is mandatory to take NHAI’s permission regarding the same.
“We got to know that a sewer line has been dug up on the road that was constructed only two days ago for smooth flow of traffic. As the traffic got choked, we restored the traffic and also temporarily opened the closed part of road below the under construction elevated road so that commuters do not suffer. We also provided passage to an ambulance,” said Krishan Sachdeva, project director, NHAI.
Incidentally, the slip road had been re-carpeted by the NHAI just a day before, while the main road remains blocked since January 15 due to ongoing construction of the elevated road project.
Traffic comes to a grinding halt
Traffic congestion at the busy intersection left the commuters high and dry. Due to drizzle in the early hours of the day, the material used to fill the portion of the slip road that was excavated sank into the earth, leading to traffic jams till the Verka Milk Plant on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur national highway.
The excavation was taken out several meters along the shops towards the Bharat nagar chowk side and in the middle of the slip road near the intersection.
The commuters going towards Bharat Nagar Chowk and coming from Ghumar Mandi, Ferozepur road and other parts of the city were subjected to major inconvenience due to the blockage which also had a ripple effect on internal roads, including Ghumar Mandi, Mall road and Fountain chowk.
After being informed about the incident, NHAI officials rushed to the spot and opened the main road for the traffic only around 10 am and the repair work to make the slip road functional continued till noon due to which the road coming from the Ghumar Mandi was also blocked.
Sharing the ordeal faced by the commuters, Naval Kaura of Ghumar mandi stated that thousands of commuters use this stretch every single hour and it is the failure on the part of authorities that the road was damaged without giving any thought.