Chandigarh, April 15 -- Hanging fire for five years, the estimated project cost of the underpass between Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) and Panjab University (PU) has ballooned to Rs.25 crore, from Rs.8 crore in 2019, as per the revised estimates filed by the UT engineering department.

A senior officer from the engineering department said, "Since there were some changes in the plan, the estimate has been revised from Rs.8 crore to Rs.25 crore. We are currently in the process of finalising the revised estimate."

The project, aimed at offering safe passage to pedestrians on the busy stretch, was approved in 2019 by the then UT administrator VP Singh Badnore. Nearly 10,000 people, mostly students, patients...