Border Roads Organisation builds 484-meter bridge connecting Punjab's Kasowal enclave with rest of the country

Image Credits: Twitter/@SpokespersonMoD

Union Ministry of Defence on Wednesday (April 22) said that Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed and opened a new permanent bridge on the river Ravi connecting Kasowal enclave in Punjab to the rest of the country. The MoD said that the BRO has succeeded in constructing the road much ahead of its schedule. 

BRO builds 484-meter permanent bridge connecting Kasowal enclave in Punjab with rest of the country https://t.co/WrKflpkiua #Covid19 #SwasthaBharat #sayyes2precautions #MoDAgainstCorona #StayHomeIndia #IndiaFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/P6uRwlhO8F

— ADG (M&C) DPR (@SpokespersonMoD) April 22, 2020

"The enclave of around 35 square kilometres had  hither to been connected via pontoon bridge of limited load capacity. The pontoon bridge used to be dismantled every year prior to the Monsoon or else it would have got washed away in the strong currents of the river. This meant thousands of acres of fertile land across the river could not be tilled by farmers during the Monsoon" Press Information Bureau said in a press release. 

According to PIB press release, the local population and the Army required a Class 70 permanent bridge to give all weather connectivity to the enclave and the BRO came up with a plan to construct a permanent bridge. The bridge is 484-meter-long and it was built by 141 Drain Maintenance Coy of 49 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) of Project Chetak. The bridge costing Rs 17.89 crore consists of 16 cells of 30.25-metre length each.

"Border Roads Organisation had planned to open the Kasowal bridge in time for Vaisakhi so that the farmers could transport their harvest to the market comfortably. The 16th and last Cell Division was completed on the March 15, 2020 and construction of protective works was under progress when the work came to a halt on March 23 due to the COVID-19 lockdown. To ensure locals do not suffer during the harvest season and also to ensure the bridge does not get damaged because of the heavy discharge of water and the tendency of the river to change course in the monsoons, Border Roads approached Punjab government and Gurdaspur district administration and obtained necessary approvals to continue the work," said the PIB press release.

According to Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Harpal Singh, the BRO teams involved in the construction of the bridge took all necessary coronavirus COVID-19 precautions.