Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 18

Finally, work on recreating military assets being demolished by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will commence on Tuesday. Its foundation stone will be laid by Major General Sanjiv Bajaj, General Officer Commanding, 91 Sub Area, along with Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav and officials of the NHAI.Due to the pending construction of military assets, the NHAI was not able to demolish the boundary wall for the expansion of the highway. Now, work on recreating and demolishing the boundary wall will run concurrently.Sources said around 70 per cent construction of the fresh boundary wall has been completed so far against the old Army boundary wall as part of the six-laning of the Jalandhar-Panipat highway. Now, with the laying of foundation stone on recreating Army assets, to the highway project lying pending for years will get a fillip.The six-laning of the Jalandhar-Panipat highway has been hit in Jalandhar due to the pending land acquisition. The land along the highway from parts of the city near PAP Chowk, Rama Mandi and 12 villages up to near Haveli was to be acquired by the NHAI, but it got stuck for over two years. Work at the site can not begin till a diversion is provided to thousands of commuters along the highway, which will be possible once the boundary wall of the Army is pulled down.It was only after the Vajra Corps agreed to acquire the land at Veer Sarangwal village near Banga in Nawanshahr against the acquisition of 10.63 acre of Army land in Jalandhar for completing the six-laning of Jalandhar-Panipat National Highway that hopes of completing the Jalandhar stretch has been rekindled.