Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 7

A week within Bathinda Tribune highlighted the bad condition of Shahid Nand Singh Chowk, the Defence Services Welfare Board took the initiative to renovate it. The roundabout is popularly called Fauji Chowk.Deputy Director, Defence Services Welfare Board, Bathinda, Colonel Sarabjit Singh Sangha, said, “We have a provision under which we can renovate and reconstruct roundabouts in the city, which we do preferably before Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations.“Recently, a heavy vehicle rammed into the roundabout due to which several red sand tiles started falling off. We took the initiative before the Independence Day celebrations,” he said.He added that since this time the renovation didn’t need much money, the DSWB spent from its own funds.“If the renovation and maintenance had required more funds, we would have written to the Deputy Commissioner for it,” he said.The Bathinda Development Authority had handed over the repair and maintenance work of Fauji Chowk to Omaxe Group, which was also to beautify it as part of its corporate social responsibility project.All repair and maintenance work done at the roundabout was undertaken entirely by private firms and no money was spent by the BDA, clarified the BDA chief administrator Sanyam Aggarwal. As the project deal with the previous private sponsors is over, the BDA is looking for a sponsor, possibly Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited or the Army. After holding a competition to get the city’s roundabouts designed by various architects from across the country to display the history of Punjab and Bathinda and depict the rich culture, it had handed over the build-operate-maintain project of Fauji Chowk to Omaxe and ITI Chowk to Mittal Group.