Plan to construct PGI-PU underpass gets underway

Chandigarh: The UT engineering department has initiated the process of preparation of structural stability and structural working drawings design for the construction of PGI-Panjab University (PU) pedestrian underpass.
A detailed estimate for construction of the subway underpass between the PGI and Punjab University will also be prepared. After these are finalized, the department will float tenders for the project construction, said an official.
The project has been in the pipeline for nearly five years now.In-principle approval for the project came in 2019 when then UT Administrator VPS Badnore gave his consent for the project. But since then, the project has been plagued with planning issues. After repeated changes in designs, the CHCC sub panel gave its consent last year, though it had asked some changes to be incorporated. After these changes, the design was prepared.
“The PGI-PU stretch has heavy pressure of not only motorized traffic, but also pedestrians. Hundreds of students and patients use the stretch every day. The area has become a hotspots for accidents, even fatal as happened last year in front of the PGI when a pedestrian was crushed under a bus. So there is a huge necessity to construct the project. However, because of dilatory approval process, the construction is yet to start,” said an official.