LUDHIANA: A few much-awaited projects of the civic body are ready for inauguration and will be handed over to the public soon. Work on the all-weather swimming pool and construction and demolition waste plant is complete while the basketball court is near completion. Officials said that it will take another week to complete the remaining work.
The construction and demolition (C&D) waste plant set up in Dhandhari was initially conceived under the Smart City Mission but was taken up under the Swachh Bharat Mission due to increase in its cost and change in the structure. The project cost was estimated at Rs 2.69 crore, but the site allocated for the project turned out to be a dumpsite, because of which authorities needed to construct pillars and remove the trash. This led to escalation of the project cost. Finally, the tender was awarded for Rs 7.30 crore, with an additional Rs 2.20 crore spent on machinery, which was purchased under the Smart City Mission.
The plant constructed by the civic body will have the capacity to process at least 100 tons of construction waste per day. Officials said that after crushing the waste, the contractor will manufacture multiple products, like tiles. The C&D waste plant is urgently needed in the city, as frequent construction work results in heaps of rubble lying everywhere. The civic body attempted to designate places where people could dispose of waste, but it did not work, and waste can even be seen in green belts.
The all weather swimming pool was also a longstanding demand in the city, where residents did not have a place to swim during the winter months. Only a few clubs and private places have all-weather pools. Swimming enthusiasts, especially players, were unable to practise. The all-weather pool has been constructed near Rakh Bagh, adjoining the older MC pool, which remains operational in the summer. The pool has been constructed under the Smart City Mission at a cost of Rs 5.82 crore. It is 4.5 feet deep on one side and 6 feet on the other.
The third project is the basketball court in Guru Nanak Stadium, costing Rs 14.38 crore under the Smart City Mission. It will take another week to complete the work. This project has missed several deadlines already and now, two courts are almost ready.
MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said, “The swimming pool is ready and if anyone wants to use it, they can go ahead. We have also conducted trial runs of the C&D waste plant, which will start shortly. However, the basketball court will take time. It will also start in some time.”
Now that the MC has constructed sports infrastructure, including a table tennis court, basketball court, and all-weather swimming pool, officials plan to hand over the projects to private bodies for proper maintenance.
