Chandigarh: Finally, work on PGI-PU underpass to begin in November
Work on the ₹10-crore project is expected to be completed within six months, says Chandigarh chief engineer CB Ojha
Hanging fire for over five years, work on the much-needed pedestrian underpass between PGIMER and Panjab University is finally slated to begin in the last week of November.
Confirming the development, UT chief engineer CB Ojha said, “The town planning department will approve the drawings by next week, and work is expected to begin by the end of November or the first week of December.”
He added that there were some changes in the plan, which delayed the project. “These have been taken care of now. The project is expected to be completed by June next year.”
The project, aimed at offering safe passage to pedestrians on the busy stretch, was approved in 2019 by the then UT administrator VP Singh Badnore.
Nearly 10,000 people, mostly students, patients and their attendants, use the stretch every day. Due to heavy vehicular movement, especially CTU buses that pick and drop PU students and patients, visiting PGIMER, this is an accident-prone area. The underpass is expected to facilitate smoother pedestrian and vehicular movement, thereby bringing down accidents.
The need for a pedestrian underpass at the site was also highlighted in the comprehensive mobility plan for the tricity, prepared by the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES).
However, for more than five years, the project has remained stuck in bureaucratic red tape.
The original plan has seen multiple modifications. Earlier, it was suggested that the entry and exit points of the underpass should be on the premises of PGIMER and PU to allow buses enough space to pick and drop passengers.
But after both institutions refused to spare a 60 square yard piece of land on their respective premises, the plan was altered and the width of the underpass was reduced from 17 metres to 16.5 metres to ensure it falls on a limited area that falls under the administration, not extending beyond the road.
After modifications in the plan, the sub-committee of the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) approved the amended design of the underpass in July 2023.
However, for over two years, the revised project drawings have been awaiting the approval of the UT department of urban planning.
The Chandigarh MC, which was assigned the task of shifting the sewer and storm water pipelines before the start of the underpass construction, has also yet to yet to start work.
