Two Hundred Fifty acres given for cantonment

He, however, said that the completion of all "academic formalities for the proposed cantonment would take another two months".

Lt Gen Mann, who was here to inspect the site for the proposed causeway across Sarsa Nangal rivulet, said the project will not take more than a week to complete. "A final nod from the district authorities is awaited," he said.

The proposed causeway will felicitate smooth flow of traffic on the Roopnagar-Anandpur Sahib section of the national highway during the Khalsa tercentenary celebrations in April. This was necessitated on account of the impending delay in the construction of the bridge by the NH wing of the PWD. The bridge is being financed by the Ministry of Surface Transport and is aimed to avoid two railway crossings on this section of the highway.

Since the Army authorities are skilled in raising causeways and pre-fabricated bridges within a short span of time, the district administration was forced to take their help. Though sources revealed that most funds had been utilised by the cash-strapped authorities elsewhere, causing delay in completion of the approach routes to the bridges, Deputy Commissioner Kulbir Singh Sidhu denied this by saying, "The funds were delayed and not utilised elsewhere".