Only a couple of months after it was renovated, Fauji Chowk is again crumbling in Bathinda. Tribune photo: Pawan sharma

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 30

Shahid Nand Singh Chowk, located in the centre of the city, is in a shambles.Although Fauji Chowk, as it is popularly known, was renovated by a private company only a few months ago, the tiles used for construction have started falling off.As per information, Omaxe Group had taken up the project of renovation and maintenance of the chowk as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.Omaxe had collaborated with the Bathinda Development Authority to take care of the chowk.Apart from the project, apart from renovation and maintenance, the corporate house was also to procure some obsolete equipment from the Army and display it at the chowk.Chief administrator of the BDA, Sanyam Aggarwal, said, “The project was completely under the CSR activity of the private company. The BDA didn’t pay any money from its funds for its renovation. The proposed beautification of the chowk was not completed and now, it is in a shambles as the tie-up has ended.”He added that the BDA was looking forward to collaborating with either the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited or the Army for taking up the project of beautification of the roundabout.Since 2012, the BDA has been seeking sponsorship from private companies for the renovation and beautification on build-operate-maintain basis of two roundabouts – Fauji Chowk and ITI Chowk.While Fauji Chowk’s renovation was handed over to Omaxe, the work of ITI Chowk was given to Mittal Group.Earlier, Fauji Chowk was asymmetric in shape. It was given an oval shape for smooth flow of traffic around it.As part of the beautification of roundabouts, the BDA had even held an open competition to get these roundabouts designed from various architects in the country.All designs were to be based on the history of Punjab and Bathinda and to depict the rich culture.As part of this project, the sponsoring companies were allowed to display their names on the chowks but were barred from putting up any other kind of advertisement or hoarding.The BDA had planned that initially, the work of the chowk would be allotted for five years, excluding the development period, and this time could further be extended by five years if the work was found to be satisfactory.