Start construction of Delhi-Katra highway on fast-track: Punjab CM
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Jul, 2022 04:41 PM
Chandigarh, July 18 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday issued a directive for starting the construction of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra National Highway on a fast-track mode.
Chairing a review meeting of the Public Works Department (PWD) here, the Chief Minister asked the officials to accord top priority to all approved and sanctioned works for their timely completion.
He issued directions to ensure the department strictly adheres to the prescribed specifications for ensuring quality construction, maintenance and repair of the upcoming projects.
He said Delhi-Amritsar-Katra National Highway is an ambitious project, which once completed will save time, money and energy of commuters travelling from Delhi to Jammu and Kashmir via Punjab. It will be beneficial for those desirous of paying obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
Mann said the 254-km long Delhi-Katra highway will be constructed at a cost Rs 11,510 crore and will pass through nine districts of the state -- Jalandhar, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Patiala, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur.
The Chief Minister also asked the department to complete the work on construction of Aam Aadmi Clinics as per the fixed deadline of August 15. Mann envisioned that the clinics will act as catalyst for providing quality healthcare services to people.
He asked the department to speed up the process for starting work on the construction of the Sant Attar Singh State Institute of Medical Sciences in Sangrur coming up at an outlay of Rs 350 crore.
Reviewing other projects, the Chief Minister also directed the officers to complete the ongoing projects of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Law University in Kairon in Tarn Taran district, Sri Guru Ravidass Memorial Khuralgarh in Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur district, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Sports University in Patiala, Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji Skill Institute in Sri Chamkaur Sahib and the Centre of Interfaith Studies in Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar.
Many residential and industrial parts of the city faced major power outages as employees of the Electricity Department went on a three-day strike from Monday night in protest against the privatisation of the department. Most of the places have been facing snapping of power since midnight.
In a significant decision by the Guru Nanak Dev University syndicate, Professor Dr Sanjeev P. Sahni, Principal Director, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences (JIBS), has been appointed as 'Professor of Eminence' for a period of five years. Dr Sahni joins an elite list of scholars extraordinaire who have been awarded the position based on their outstanding contribution to the field of academia.
The accused, identified as Nikhil Goswami, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, before being arrested by the Delhi Police from Ghaziabad, stayed for two days in Manali, Himachal Pradesh in an expensive hotel, where the room rent was Rs 25,000 per day.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh expressed concern over the ongoing legal battle between Singh and the Maharashtra government, terming it a "messy state of affairs" and also a "very unfortunate situation".
The NCB was keeping a close vigil on the drug smuggling cases in all the election-bound states, during which as many as 14 cases related to the seizure of drugs were reported from Punjab, which went to the polls in a single phase on February 20.
Judge Ambalal R Patel announced a compensation of Rs one lakh for the families of the deceased, Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 for those who suffered minor injuries.
