Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday asked officials to expedite the work of constructing bridges on perennial rivers of the state so that it would not just facilitate better connectivity but also save precious time of the commuters, particularly in the rural areas.
An official communiqué released on Friday confirmed that at present 167 bridges were under construction on perennial rivers involving a total budget of Rs 4,694 crore.
Maurya, who holds the Public Works Department (PWD) portfolio and heads Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation (UPSBC), claimed that since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the state four years back, it took up the development works and laying of a strong network of highways and connecting roads and construction of bridges in a big way.
He said that bridges saved several hours of the commuters as earlier they had to take a longer route to reach their destinations.
Maurya claimed that wherever bridges could not be constructed for various reasons, pontoon bridges had been made to ease movement in the rural areas.
UPSBC Managing Director Arvind Srivastava said that during the last four years, the corporation had received sanction for construction of 170 bridges on perennial rivers at a total budget of Rs 2,732 crore and it had constructed 130 bridges on perennial rivers at a cost of Rs 2,255 crore.
Srivastava said that the remaining work was in full swing and on the direction of the government, orders had been issued to senior officers to complete the work within the stipulated time while following Covid protocol at all the sites.