Friday, December 25, 2015

Ludhiana ELEVATED HIGHWAY PROJECT : High Court issues notice to NHAI

Told to reply on suggestions made by Punjab Traffic Adviser regarding shortcomings in the project


Shivani Bhakoo
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, December 24

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to file a reply to the suggestions made by Punjab Traffic Adviser Navdeep Asija regarding the shortcomings in the upcoming Elevated Highway Project in Ludhiana.
The orders were issued by Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ajay Tewari on December 18. Navdeep Asija had filed in the court that the proposal of constructing nearly 10 km elevated highway starting from Samrala Chowk to NH-95 section passing through the city was in violation of the approved mobility plan for the city of Ludhiana. Upon request, the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) and NHAI, ACP, provided the copy of their evaluation of the scheme.
Richa Agnihotri, ACP (Traffic), Ludhiana, had categorically informed about the wrong design of the elevated highway crossing right from the middle of the city to facilitate bypass traffic, which she said would not only create further problems due to limited space, but would add more traffic chaos. Three flyovers on this particular stretch have already added chaos to the situation, the ACP said.
This stretch was chosen for public transport system and bus rapid transport. The elevated corridor will simply restrict any kind of further planning of public transport and the local traffic underneath will face logjam on a day-to-day basis.
Asija pointed out that no developed city of any developed nation had built any elevated highway or expressway right from the middle of the city.
"One elevated highway from Chaura Bazar has already worsened the traffic situation in Ludhiana. In the case of Ludhiana, this ill-conceived proposal will not only add to traffic chaos but will create more health hazard and noise pollution," Asija said.
The Gurgaon-Delhi expressway is an example of a bad design which divided the city into two and increased pollution and road deaths manyfold, he said. Delhi was a recent example, where the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India gave several directions to stop or discourage heavy commercial vehicles of bypass traffic crossing from the city.
"The present proposal of NHAI to build 10km elevated highways at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore from the middle of Ludhiana city has to be inspected from a design point of view," said Asija. The issue was highlighted by an RTI activist Kuldeep Khaira through Navdeep Asija in the High Court.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Amogh Division commemorates Fazilka Vijay Diwas

ANI  |  Fazilka (Punjab) December 16, 2015 Last Updated at 13:27 IST

The border town of Fazilka, Punjab, held a ceremony in remembrance of the heroism and valour of the brave soldiers who laid down their lives fighting for the motherland there during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.

The "Saviours of Fazilka" fought the Battle of Beriwala, which raged on uninterrupted for 14 days from December 3, 1971 onwards. It was undoubtedly one of the fiercest actions of the 1971 Indo - Pak war.

In this epic battle, 11 officers, 10 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and 185 soldiers embraced martyrdom while 19 officers, 11 JCOs and 334 soldiers were wounded on the battlefield. For displaying conspicuous gallantry, a total of one Mahavir Chakra, six Vir Chakras and four mention-in-dispatches were awarded.

The ceremony organised by the Amogh Division of the Indian Army witnessed active participation by the general public. The civil administration came forward to assist the Army in organising and actively participating in the event which also witnessed active participation by the general public .

Due respect was paid to the martyrs by laying of Wreatha at the Fazilka war Memorial. A 'Marathon' was organised wherein people participated with a lot of enthusiasm despite the chilly weather.

Prizes were given out for various categories to the participants of the marathon.

To remember the heroic act and valour of the martyrs, the children of Fazilka put up a mesmerising cultural programme which filled everyone's heart with patriotism.

Events such as painting, debate and various other activities were organised in Schools across Fazilka on the eve of Vijay Diwas and the winners were felicitated.

The General Officer Commanding of the Amogh Division, Major General Bipin Bakshi exhorted all ranks of the division to rededicate themselves to the service of the nation and emulate the devotion of war veterans and martyrs.

The event was also graced by Mrs Santosh Rana w/o Late Major K S Rana of 15 RAJPUT who attained martyrdom during the operations in Fazilka and many war heroes and Veer Naris (War Widows). The mere presence of these 'Veer Naris' and war veterans was a source of great inspiration for the people of Fazilka.

Monday, December 14, 2015

TAPI Gas Pipeline - Congratulations to All

15th November 2004, that was my first small write-up about Fazilka in my city's first Hindi daily news paper Sarhad Kesri on TAPI Gas Pipeline. Almost after 11 years, the historic day arrived when which much awaited pact of TAPI Gas Pipeline was signed between four nations and construction work started. We will be the Future Energy Hub.....The city got solar, energy from waste water, co-generation electricity generation at Sugar mill, the best practice of agro waste/straw management and production of electricity, solid waste management.Gowshalla, promotion of cycle rickshaw, car-free zone are the few other good examples of energy conservation and management...think of any source of renewable energy and we have it in Fazilka. Probably it is going to be the first Carbon Neutral city of the country, which produce more energy from its renewable resources than consumption. Entry of this Gas Pipeline at Fazilka would justify of claim "India begins here". Hope this energy connection will bring peace and prosperity in this sub-continent
Congratulations to All ...