By Arun Pratap Singh
Nainital, 7 Jan: A public interest litigation was heard today in the Uttarakhand High Court against the movement of heavy vehicles on several bridges built over the canals originating from Asan Barrage in Dehradun. After hearing the case, the division bench comprising Chief Justice G Narender and senior Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari, has summoned Chief Secretary Radha Raturi and Secretary, Public Works Department (PWD), to appear before the bench tomorrow in this case via video conferencing. The Court observed during the hearing that the issue is highly sensitive. The hearing will continue tomorrow.
During the hearing today, the state government conceded that there is a ban on the movement of heavy vehicles on these bridges, but at the same time argued that the ban should be lifted as the government does not have an additional or alternate route, causing heavy vehicle owners to suffer losses. On the other hand, the petitioner argued that the state government has an alternative route for heavy vehicles 15-16 kilometres away, which is not being used by vehicle owners to save fuel. The petitioners further argued that the state government is neither repairing these bridges nor constructing new ones.
The petitioners also mentioned that the average lifespan of these bridges has expired, and they can collapse at any time. Hence, heavy vehicles loaded with goods should not be allowed to ply over them. Taking the matter seriously, the court directed the Chief Secretary and Secretary, PWD, to appear in court via video conferencing tomorrow to provide an update on the situation.
Dehradun’s social activist Raghunath Singh Negi has filed this PIL, stating that in 1965, the Uttar Pradesh government had constructed several bridges over the canals from Dehradun’s Asan Barrage with regulated load capacity. However, after the state government permitted mining, heavy vehicles started using these bridges and this could result in major accidents or bridge collapse since these bridges have low load-bearing capacity.
The petitioner pleaded that heavy vehicles and traffic be banned on these bridges and that they should be repaired on urgent basis. He also claimed that the investigating agencies surveyed the bridges and did not approve heavy vehicle use due to the expired load-bearing capacity.
