HimVani
Dharamshala: Union Minister of State for Surface Transport and National Highways Mahadev Singh Kandela today inaugurated 520 meter long Chakki bridge on the Pathankot Mandi NH connecting Punjab with Himachal, which was constructed at the cost of Rs38.86 Crore in 26 months. Earlier, a century old bridge was washed away on August 9, 2007 following heavy rains, which made the government to reconstruct this bridge. The Union Minister on this occasion said that this bridge was strategically important for Jammu and Kashmir , Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
He said that 14 bridges were under construction on different national highways in this hill state costing Rs.53 Crores and six of these bridges were ready for regular traffic, which were constructed at the cost of Rs.16 Crore. He said that central government had granted approval for the construction of different state highways at the cost of Rs.982 Crores, which included 20 new bridges being constructed at the cost of Rs.84 Crores. He said that for the better transport facilities, the government of India had also granted an approval of Rs.294 Crore for the construction of 6 different national highways in the state. He said in addition to the above projects GOI had granted sanction of Rs.226 Crores for 49 construction works out of which 19 works were under progress costing Rs.155 crores.
