Punjab: Tender worth Rs 17 crore issued for repair of bridge on Swan

Punjab: The Public Works Department (PWD) has issued a tender of Rs 17 crore to repair the bridge over the Swan river at Algran village in Anandpur Sahib assembly constituency. The bridge was damaged in July 2023 allegedly due to illegal mining. It was closed for traffic after that. People commuting between Anandpur Sahib and Nurpur Bedi from Bhallan can be seen crossing the river bed to reach their destination. The area gets cut off during monsoon after the water level in the river rises. Arshdeep Singh of Bhallan village said that the damage to the bridge was due to large-scale illegal mining in the area.

Several tippers and polkallen machines can be seen running in the area at night. He alleged that the water level in the area has also gone down by about 50 feet due to illegal mining. Saugandh Singh Bhullar, Executive Engineer, Ropar PWD, confirmed that a tender of Rs 17 crore has been issued to repair the bridge. He said the repair work would begin soon. When asked if there was any threat to the bridge over Sutlej at Agampur village due to illegal mining, he said the bridge was open for traffic as of now. However, the drainage department was taking steps to protect it from damage during monsoon. Ropar Executive Engineer (Mining) Tushar Goyal said action was taken against those involved in illegal mining in the area recently. He said some of those involved in illegal mining have been fined heavily.