Jassur traders resent delay in completion of flyover bridge

Jassur town on Pathankot-Mandi National Highway (NH-154) in Nurpur was known as a nerve centre in Kangra district for wholesale trading. The ongoing slow pace of construction of flyover bridge on the highway has badly affected wholesale as well as retail business now. The construction of the elevated flyover started over three years ago and had to be completed till May this year. But the road construction company which had taken the responsibility to build the first phase (package one) of the construction of the Pathankot-Mandi four lane project from Kandwal to Bhedkhud had further sublet the work including construction of this flyover bridge to local builders.

Owing to a dispute between the Mumbai based IRB Infrastructure Developers Private Ltd and local builders, the construction was stalled three months ago which further added to the woes of the local traders and small vendors. Out of 32 bridge pillars, 26 have been constructed by the local company but the work on capping these pillars which started two years ago is yet to be completed.

The sluggish construction work can be gauged from the fact that even after 11 months, the local construction company has failed to remove the iron shuttering used in November last year for capping pillars number 13.

A lot of resentment is brewing among local traders. Wholesale chemists Mukul Dhiman, Rocky and Suraj Mahajan lamented that their business had suffered immensely during the past three years. Local retailers dealing in clothes, readymade garments and groceries said the whole business in Jassur town had been badly affected due to the slow pace of construction of the Pathankot-Mandi highway widening project. Raju Mahajan, president of Jassur Veopar Mandal said traders and small vendors in this commercial town were getting anxious as they had lost all hope of picking up their business in the upcoming festive season on Karva Chauth, Dhanteras and Diwali festivals.

He lamented that small vendors were on the brink of ruin in these past three years. Intriguingly, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has failed to even shift high tension power supply transmission lines passing over the pillars of the flyover bridge at Jassur, without shifting of these high power lines completion of the bridge is not possible.

Up in arms against the laxity over the unprecedented delay in completing flyover construction, the local residents and traders have demanded to expedite construction work by deploying round the clock workforce.

Tushar Singh, Deputy Manager, NHAI when contacted said that “Now the internal dispute between the two companies has been settled and the ongoing construction work is going to be expedited in the coming days and the construction will be completed by September, 2025,” he said.