Punjab polls at the door, Badals go on mission inauguration

Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is spread over an area of 31 km in Amritsar. It will be able to park 93 buses upon completion, but has been started with just four buses, which are currently ferrying passengers from India Gate on the Amritsar-Attari bypass road to the Amritsar railway station. The number of buses is expected to go up to 25 by the end of the first phase (January-end).
Cost: Rs 250 crore
Original deadline: August 2016
Inauguration: Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal inaugurated the BRTS on December 15.
Present status: Work pending. The BRTS project team claims to be picking up steam to ensure that 60 buses start docking at the BRTS by the second phase (February end).
Name of the project: Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum
Spread over eight acres, Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum in Amritsar aims at showcasing the valour of soldiers and officers in various battles fought during the times of Sixth Guru Hargobind Singh up till the Kargil War.
Cost: Rs 130 crore
Original completion deadline: August 15, 2016
Inauguration: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal inaugurated it on October 23, 2016.
Present status: Four galleries, which are about 85 percent complete, will be thrown open from January 15.
Name of the project: Gobindgarh Fort Restoration
Restoration of Gobindgarh Fort, which spans 43 acres near Amritsar. It houses the toshakhana where Maharaja Ranjit Singh had kept the Kohinoor diamond.
Cost: Rs 50 crore (from the loan taken from Asian Development Bank under Infrastructure Development Investment Programme) has been spent on the project to date.
Original completion deadline: It has missed several deadlines starting from 2010 when its gates were slated to be thrown open to public.
Inauguration: On December 12, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal inaugurated the Fort, throwing open its Phase I.
Present status: Work pending. It will take another five years before the fort is thrown open.
Name of the project: Bridge over Sutlej river
Bridge over Sutlej river near Kot Buddha village in Patti sub-division, linking Tarn Taran to Ferozepur district, thereby almost halving the travel time between Majha and Malwa.
Cost: Rs 102 crore
Original completion deadline: 2013
Inauguration: CM Badal’s daughter Parneet Kaur Kairon, wife of minister Adaish Partap Singh Kairon, inaugurated it December 21.
Present status: Work on railing on both sides of the bridge is still pending.
Name of the project: Chabhal bus stand in Tarn Taran
Chabhal bus stand in Tarn Taran district spread over a little less than an acre. Chabhal, a small town, connects the border belt to both Amritsar and Tarn Taran district headquarters.
Cost: Rs 2.5 crore
Original completion deadline: December 2016
Inauguration: By Tarn Taran MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu on December 26.
Present status: Major construction work is pending, and the bus stand is not yet ready to dock buses.
Name of the project: Inter-state bus terminus (ISBT), SAS Nagar.
This is a dream project of deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal. The first-of-its-kind busopolis in region, this air-conditioned bus stand is spread over 6.6 acres adjacent to the Verka Chowk on the National Highway-21
Cost: Rs 500 crore
Original completion deadline: December 2011.
Inauguration: Sukhbir Badal inaugurated it on December 16.
Present status: Only Phase 1 is complete. Phase 2, which includes retail outlets and a 10-screen multiplex in Tower A of the complex, will be made operational by June, while Phase 3 will be completed by the end of 2018.
Name of the project: Punjab Kisan Vikas Chamber (PKVC)
Punjab Kisan Vikas Chamber (PKVC) is spread over two acres in Aerocity, SAS Nagar.
Cost: Rs 20 crore
Original completion deadline: The foundation stone was laid on April 27, 2016, and it was to be completed within a year.
Inauguration: CM Badal inaugurated it on December 15.
Present status: Work pending. Only the ground floor is ready. The first floor offices will take another three months.
Name of the project: Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh ji bus stand, Sangrur
Cost: Rs 7 crore
Inauguration: It was inaugurated by the Deputy CM on November 18
Present status: People had to wait till December 1 for bus service from the stand. The shops, parking lots and toilets are still under construction. It is learnt that Sangrur MLA Parkash Chand Garg, who got the SAD ticket, wanted the inauguration in haste.
Name of the project: Indoor Stadium at Pakhowal road in Ludhiana.
Cost: Rs 85 crore
Inauguration: The deputy CM inaugurated it on November 12 with a friendly basketball match
Present status: Work pending. The stadium does not have electricity connection.
Name of the project: Safe City Project, Ludhiana
Cost: Rs 80 crore
Inauguration: Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal inaugurated it on November 12. A total of 1441 CCTVs were installed at 159 locations in the city in the first phase.
Present status: Most of these CCTVs are not functioning.
Name of the project: Amphibious bus, Harike Pattan
The Amphibious bus project at Harike Pattan on the confluence of the Satluj and Beas river. It’s part of the Badal government’s efforts to develop Harike headworks, a famous wetland and bird sanctuary of North India spread over 86 sq kms.
Cost: Rs. 10 crore
Original completion deadline: September 1, 2016
Inauguration: The deputy CM inaugurated it on December 12, 2016
Present status: Ever since ferrying Badal Junior, the amphibious bus has been lying locked in a garage with its staff away for training. The infrastructure at the lake, including a cafeteria, is also yet to be completed.