Patna: The crucial junction of Lohia Path Chakra on Bailey Road near Hartali Chowk will have an underground roundabout. The Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNN) has finalised the design for the most complicated section of traffic on the road.
The underground roundabout will be used for those taking turn, while the vehicles going straight on the Bailey road from Punaichak to the Patna High Court and vice versa need to take the flyover route. Those coming from Punaichak side and wishing to go to Boring Canal Road or Darogarai Path will take recourse to the underground roundabout to change the direction.
Officials said that the construction of Hartali Chowk section of underground roundabout will take about one year to become fully operational. However, the underground service lane connecting Darogarai Path with Bailey Road towards Bihar Museum, which is currently under construction, will be opened for traffic from next month.
BRPNNL officials said that the traffic might be diverted for sometimes and one way traffic could be introduced once construction of the underground roundabout starts. The underground roundabout will have no signal and traffic will flow smoothly. Engineers of IIT, Roorkee, has modified the design for the roundabout.
Lohia Path Chakra
In its bid to do away with frequent traffic jam on the most important thoroughfare, the BRPNNL has undertaken ₹381.59 crore Lohia Path Chakra Project, being built on swap and grade separated U- turn based multi sectional interchange in the length of about 3.20km from Lalit Bhawan to Vidyut Bhawan.
It has been proposed to have multiple underpasses, flyover ,elevated section using U girders & extra dosed cable stayed structures with state-of-the-art, pavement finished road appurtenances, pedestrian crossing, software controlled solar lighting, landscaping, and integrated drainage system etc. The work on the project commenced in December 2015 and likely to complete by January 31, next year.
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CAG had detected financial irregularities
Bihar’s capital Patna has seen a chain of flyovers over the last one decade, but the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for the year ending March 31, 2019 has underlined that “flyovers were being constructed without ensuring the availability of drawing and design, tenders were invited before obtaining administrative approval and payments were made prior to technical sanction”.
“Such practices were also reported to the government by the CAG for the year ending March 31, 2010, and audit report (PSUs) for the year ending March 31, 2015. However, the Bihar government is yet to address these significant issues which go against the financial propriety and prudence,” says the report, tabled in the Bihar Legislative Assembly last year.
In case of Lohia Path Chakra, the audit objected to excess payment of ₹7.44 crore to a consultant appointed on nomination basis without any justification for single-source selection in violation of Bihar Finance Rules, to which the management of the BRPNNL did not offer any comment.
