The countdown has begun for one of the biggest religious congregations in the country - the Ardh Kumbh mela -- to be held at Haridwar from January 14, 2016 till April-end. For the Government agencies involved in the arrangements, the mega festival, which draws lakhs of devotees, is poised to be an acid test as it would be the first major event hosted by the State after the June 2013 tragedy.
But the district administration does not seem to be as serious as they ought to be as far as the completion of the ongoing infrastructure building mission is concerned.
Only three permanent bridges are to be made as part of the Mela preparations. But even then, none of the bridges has been completed till date with time ticking by. The temporary bridges have been placed well in time and both the district and the state government officials seized the feat to claim credit. But the real ground work of permanent bridges is still moving at a snail's pace with the deadlines being extended from time to time with each inspectional visit of the officials concerned. Now, PWD has set January 10 as the deadline for the bridge construction work, extending the previous deadline by ten days.
Only 60 percent of the construction work of permanent bridges has been completed as yet. The most important of these bridges include double lane bridge near laltarao bridge and the Jwalapur bridge.
The laltarao bridge under construction near Birla Ghat is of utmost importance since it is the main route to be used for ferrying people from National Highway to Har Ki Pauri area in the Mela zone. While connecting the frames in the upper part of the bridge, the engineers are finding a gap in between. The possibility of work being completed seems next to impossible, given the kind of problems the workers have been encountering.
However, putting up a brave front amidst the challenge they are facing, the PWD engineers say they are determined to meet the January 10 deadline at any cost. Speaking to The Pioneer, executive engineer PWD Mohammad Yusuf said, "We have checked the base level of the plates from both the sides. The gap shall be recovered as soon as the frames are joined. The work would be completed by 10 January."
The bridge underway near laltaro bridge is being constructed at the cost of Rs13.07 crores and the work has been going on since May this year.
The other bridge near lal Pul in Jwalapur being built at an estimated cost of Rs 11.32 crores is far from being complete . The construction work commenced in June this year. "Within 20 to 25 days, all pending works would be completed of Hill By pass road, bridge construction at Har Ki Pauri and Jwalapur bridge near lal Pul," affirmed DIG Ardh Kumbh Mela G S Martolia.