Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, October 14
The Rs 65-crore Dhanoa Pattan bridge across the Beas river was inaugurated today. This has opened a new link between Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur districts.
The overpass is bound to facilitate the movement of sugarcane produce from the ‘Bet’ (waterlogged) area to the nearby Mukerian sugar mill.
The bridge was inaugurated by Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia after Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal failed to turn up.
The inauguration of the bridge had been postponed earlier on a couple of occasions. Interestingly, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had laid the foundation stone twice — in 2009 and 2011.
Farmers, who were present in good strength, said the bridge was a godsend for them. “The facilities at the Gurdaspur sugar mill located at Paniyar village used to be overstretched when we took our produce there. Now, we can easily take it to the Mukerian mill,” said Reshan Singh, a farmer of the ‘Bet’ area.