The pre-Independence common road and rail bridge is the main link between Jalandhar,Ferozepur For the last more than half a century,prior to Independence,both rail and road traffic have been passing through a common bridge near Gidderpindi village in Lohian constituency of Jalandhar district. The bridge remains closed for vehicular traffic every day from evening to 8 am. During the day too,it is opened for only five to six hours for the road traffic. While a separate bridge for vehicular traffic was approved before Independence,it is yet to become a reality. However,with Assembly elections just a year away,the Punjab government is now claiming that the bridge will be ready within a few months. The bridge exhibits apathy and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal had made a big promise to people of the area before 2007 elections to construct a separate road bridge on Sutlej here. Though the foundation stone for a 721-metre road bridge was laid in February 2009,with a deadline to complete the project by June 2010,at least 50 per cent work is still pending. After the company executing the project abandoned it midway,it had been handed over to another company under build,operate and transfer basis. The government is now claiming that the work will be completed before July 2011. The cost of the bridge will come to around Rs 41 crore. Meant for pneumatic-tyred vehicles only and not for bullock carts,the bridge is the main link between Jalandhar and Ferozepur. A number of vehicles coming from Ludhiana side,too,take this route. But in the absence of any separate road bridge,people commuting from Jalandhar to Ferozepur have to travel 50 kilometres extra or wait long hours for the bridge to open, said Baljeet Singh,sarpanch of Gidderpindi village. Residents of the area said this had been a long pending demand of the area people for decades but no government ever paid any attention. Ever since Lohian was carved out as a separate Assembly constituency in 1972 ,only Akali candidates have won from here,but no leader has fulfilled this promise. Punjab Revenue minister Ajit Singh Kohar,who represents Lohian at present,however,claimed they would be able to complete this bridge in six to seven months.
