ROB AT FEROZEPUR REPORT 1 | P a g e ROB AT FEROZEPUR REPORT Table of Contents S.NO. ABBREVIATIONS PAGE NO. 1 CHAPTER-1 (Introduction) 3-8 2 CHAPTER-2 (Detail of the Up-gradation History of 9-11 National Highway NH-5 (NH 95 old)) 3 CHAPTER-3 (Consultancy Services) 12-15 4 CHAPTER-4 (Quality Control & Quality Assurance) 16 5 CHAPTER-5 (Inception Report) 17-18 6 CHAPTER-6 (Proposal) 19-23 2 | P a g e ROB AT FEROZEPUR REPORT Chapter -1 Introduction 1.1 General The Government of India has taken up a massive programme of up- gradation & development of National Highways. Under NH’s development project, hundreds of kilometres have been proposed to be widened to 4/6 lane depending up on the traffic volume. These National Highways would provide high speed connectivity. NH-95 (0ld) renamed as NH-05 (new) is one of the road under this programme. For the purpose of project preparation, various corridors have been divided into convenient sections, selected on the basis of traffic generation and attraction potential, geographic location and other considerations. This report deals with construction of proposed ROB and its approaches in replacement of existing level crossing No.A-54/2-E, on Bathinda- Ferozepur rail section at km 381/1-2 & NH-95(new NH-05) section of Talwandi-Ferozepur road at km 198.05,near Ferozepur cantt in the state of Punjab. The total number of TVU at this Level Crossing was 161644 on 04-2011. The Level Crossing remains closed for about 20 times in a day & for most of the time causing traffic jams and inconvenience to the public. The broad features of the state of Punjab and Ferozepur district in which our Project Road lies are briefed herein under. 1.2 Punjab State at a Glance The State of Punjab is situated in the North Western part of India and is surrounded by the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana and it also borders the Pakistan province to the west. Punjab's capital is Chandigarh, which is administered separately as a Union Territory since it is also the capital of neighbouring Haryana. Other major cities of Punjab include Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bathinda, Patiala and Jalandhar. Punjab state is located between 29° 30' N to 32° 32' N latitude and between 73° 55' E to 76° 50' E longitude. Its average elevation is 300 m from the sea level. The total area of the state is 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles). The population is 2.77 crores (2011). The population density per sq. km is 550. Punjab has a literacy rate of 76.70%, The total number of districts in Punjab is 22. Following are some facts and figures about the state. A large portion of the land of the state is under cultivation because the Punjab plain is free from physical handicaps. The deficiency of rainfall has been made up by irrigation facilities. It is only the districts of Ropar and Hoshiarpur that the cultivated area is less than 3 | P a g e ROB AT FEROZEPUR REPORT 60 per cent of the total. It is in these districts that considerable land is covered by Shivalik Hills and the beds of seasonal streams that cannot be brought under cultivation. The major crops grown in this state include wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, maize, bajra etc. Minor crops like millet, barley and fruit and vegetables are also produced in some areas. The soil of the state is very fertile and it is formed by the deposition of alluvium. From geographical point of view the state is divided into two parts i.e. plain region and hilly region. Irrigation in the state is mainly dependent on canals. The agricultural industries in the state include mainly cotton textile, sugar and dairy industry. The state is the major producer of milk in the country. It has got highest per capita availability of milk. Operation Flood was launched in the year 1969 – 70 to increase the production of milk in the country. The three major seasons in Punjab are: summer, rainy and winter. The climate of the plains is excessively hot and dry between April and August, with temperatures as high as 49° C. The rains of the monsoon season begin at the end of June and continue till August. Annual rainfall ranges from about 915 mm (about 36 in) in the north to 102 mm (4 in) in the south. Winters are cool with some frosts. The average temperature in January is 13° C, although at night the temperature sometimes lowers to freezing. In June the average temperature is 34° C occasionally climbing as high as 45° C. Annual average rainfall ranges from 1250 mm in the north to 350 mm in the southwest. More than 70 percent of the annual rainfall occurs during the monsoon season from July to September. Excluding agriculture, other major industries include the manufacture of scientific instruments, electrical goods, machine tools, textiles, tourism, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, fertilizers, bicycles, and the processing of pine oil and sugar. 4 | P a g e ROB AT FEROZEPUR REPORT 1.2.1 Ferozepur District at a Glance The District Ferozepur is situated at India Pakistan border, at the east side Faridkot district, Moga district and at the south side Muktsar District is situated. On the north east the River Sutlej generally separates it from the FIROZEPUR and Kapurthala districts and on the south west side the Fazilka district touches the boundaries of Ferozepur. The united stream of the Sutlej and Beas generally separates it from the Amritsar district in the north-west, and farther down from the Pakistan with the exception of some areas on each side of the river. It lies in Malwa region of Punjab. It was founded by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1309–88), a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. However, The Manj Rajputs believe that the town was named after one of their chiefs, a Rajput of the Bhatti clan called Feroze Khan, in the middle of the 16th century. Firozepur is called ‘Shaheedon ki dharti’ (the land of martyrs). Firozepur today is an administrative and transportation center. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, it became a border town on the Indo-Pakistan border with memorials of India's freedom fighters. 5 | P a g e ROB AT FEROZEPUR REPORT Ferozepur also holds a historic place in Indian history as it was from here that British Raj established control over much of North-West India as well as what is now Pakistan through the Anglo-Sikh Wars that were fought in this region. Today it is the headquarters of a division of the Western Command of the Indian Army. Firozepur Cantonment is adjacent to and south of the city; during British times it was one of the largest cantonments in the country. Firozepur has easy access by road and rail to other places such as Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Delhi, andChandigarh the city is a center of numerous holy shrines and historic places. At the nearby city of Zira, is located a Jain Shwetambar Temple with ancient brass icons and wall murals. In addition to cotton and grain cultivation and agriculture-related services, Firozepur has some light manufacturing. Commercial progress has been restricted by its vicinity to the border with Pakistan. Normalizing relations between the two nuclear nations promises to raise the city's profile as a potential trade hub. Firozepur is the oldest British district of the Punjab, established in 1833 as district headquarters even well before Ludhiana and Amritsar became districts. Firozepur district, even after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, included many areas which were later re-organised to be a part of the Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar, Bathinda and Fazilka Districts. The per hectare wheat yields of this district are comparable to the best in the world and they matched wheat yields per hectare of Ontario Province in Canada. Firozepur city is to the South-West of Amritsar city and located some 109 km from Amritsar. Another nearby city to the North of Firozepur is Tarn Taran. To the East is Ludhiana about 120 km away. In the West it has Kasur and Lahore in Pakistan across the International Border at Hussainiwala/Ganda Singh Wala. Other nearby cities include Fazilka and Abohar located 85km and 120 km respectively to the South-West of Firozpur. To the North-East of Firozepur are the towns of Nakodar,Kapurthala and Jalandhar (120 km away). The cities of Muktsar and Faridkot are to the South of Firozpur. The climate of the Firozepur District is, on the whole, dry and is characterized by a very hot summer, a short rainy season and a bracing winter. The year may be divided into four seasons. The cold season is from November to March. This is followed by the summer season which lasts up to about the end of June. The period from July to the middle of 6 | P a g e ROB AT FEROZEPUR REPORT September constitutes the south-westerly monsoon season. The latter half of September and October may be termed the post-monsoon or the transition period. Transport By Air The nearest International Airport from the city is Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport, Amritsar, roughly 2 hr drive from Firozpur. The airport is connected to other parts of the country by regular flights. Several airlines operate flights from abroad, including Birmingham, Dubai and Doha. The airport now handles as many as forty-eight (48) flights every week up from the occasional, intermittent ones some years ago.