Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 29: While the protest-dharna at the JKPCC office by the people from Khour and Akhnoor led by MLA Rajiv Sharma over bridge issue continued on the third consecutive day, the protesting people suspended their agitation with the intervention of Minister of State for R&B, Revenue and Transport, Sunil Kumar Sharma this afternoon.
The Minister told the agitating MLA and other people at the site that work of approach roads of bridge will start from tomorrow as some machinery and work force has been moved to the bridge site at Pargwal and Khour site. He also claimed that within one month the tender will be finalized and full fledged work on Chenab bridge would be launched. He also claimed that there was some problem in the `design’ of approaches and it will be sorted out by utilizing services of consultancies shortly.
MLA, Akhnoor when contacted said that about 500 people from these two constituencies started their protest dharna and `gherao’ at JKPCC office in the morning on third consecutive day. There was no work again in the JKPCC office today. He said in the afternoon, MOS R&B Sunil Sharma arrived and started dialogue. He said, ” we projected two demands- remove MD JKPCC Dalip Thusso and start work on the Chenab bridge by opening financial bid without any more delay. And if their demands were not accepted before August 30 or the people were befooled on the name of starting work by the JKPCC, the people from both the constituencies would resume `massive agitation’ and also come out on the roads and highways.”
The MLA further said that tomorrow, a joint meeting of prominent people of the area and Mandal presidents from both the constituencies is being held at Akhnoor where next course of action will be decided.
Earlier, the people led by MLA Akhnoor from BJP started protest dharna at the JKPCC office in the morning. The people were shouting slogans against State Govt and the top officials from R&B and JKPCC for causing delay in the construction of longest bridge worth Rs 205 crore over river Chenab, connecting Pargwal directly with Khour and Akhnoor. They alleged that some top officers including MD, political and other people having vested interests, were trying to derail an important bridge project of Jammu region for which Govt of India was providing all the funds. They alleged that assurance of starting work of approach roads was yet another drama enacted by the MD JKPCC to delay this project as these approaches of 300 mt and 2550 mt length were the part of bridge contract.
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