Nagpur: As kids we have all heard and sung that popular nursery rhyme:
“London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down – my fair lady.
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Friday 27 Dec. 2024
Hold it up with iron bars, iron bars, iron bars, my fair lady!”
Well, in front of our eyes our beloved ‘Chatrapati bridge’ which we all have traveled over since its existence – and loved the peek we got into the Sai Mandir from it! – is not just falling but being pulled down and we CANNOT hold it up with anything even if we wanted to.
Apart from the trauma of watching it fall many Nagpurians, living in that area and also driving to the Nagpur Airport, have to suffer a lot of inconvenience. People in the neighborhood must also be putting up with noise and dust pollution.
To sugarcoat all these issues, the management of the Nagpur Metro headed by M.D. Brijesh Dixit, has thought up many novel ways to make Nagpurians feel a part of the process and turn the
‘tragedy ‘into a memorable experience in which they can all participate!
The ‘programs’ they have thus devised are as follows:
Under the heading ‘smooth dismantling of bridge – Day 2’ they inform us:
“Work of Dismantling of Chhatrpati Bridge on Wardha Raod which commenced on 15/11/2016 and progressed throughout the day & night.
The Technical team of the contractor along with Team NMRCL have been personally executing the smooth dismantling of the bridge. Traffic on Wardha Raod and other nearby roads has been diverted as per programme and as announced by NMRCL earlier. Marshalls of Nagpur Metro are constantly guiding the road users and other citizens on the diversion of the roads as also helping them on traffic flow.
Nagpur Metro has started an Information Centre for the public help & updated information. All information regarding the dismantling, traffic diversion plan, barricading, helpline number etc. is available 24X7 for the citizens in this centre. The activities being performed by Nagpur Metro during the process of dismantling of Chhatrapati Bridge include:
1. SMS Blast Road Show
2. Whats App Blast
3. Radio Broadcast
4. Information Kiosks
5. Ballon Branding
6. Signature Campaign
7. Selfie Contest
8. Informative Brochure/Leaflet Distribution
9. On Site information Center at Chhatrapti Square
On day 2 -Out of 4 spans 2 have been dismantled Today. Three Poclin machines are working and work of dismantling of Chhatrapati Bridge is in progress as per plan. Ramp portion of 3500 Cubic Meter out of 15000 Cubic Meter filling has been removed. About 300 engineers, supervisors, labour, Traffic Marshalls are working day & night on the project of dismantling the bridge.
Finest on-the-spot memory drawings by local artists.
Enthusiastic painters from different educational Institutions and commercial artists painted on their own encouraging drawings on the Chhatrapati Bridge.
So, so what if the bridge is going to be no more as we know it now?
A better and bigger one is going to be built soon in its place. And meanwhile, we will have selfies and drawings to remember the old one by!!
So let the bridge fall – no point trying to hold it up…
– RAJEEV RANJAN KUSHWAHA
