Residents of Barasat, Madhyamgram and Birati are suffering because of the delay in the construction of three railway overbridges by the public works department (PWD).

About 100 metres on both sides of the railway tracks have been cordoned off for the projects. So, people are being forced to take a roundabout route to reach the other side of the tracks.

Shops near the tracks are also losing out on customers. Some traders complained that construction material has been dumped in front of their establishments for months.

“In the past three years, we have heard several times that the overbridge will soon be ready. Nearly a thousand traders and numerous residents have to suffer because of the delay in finishing the project,” said Rabin Ghosh, a trader in Manorama Supermarket, which faces the Barasat overbridge.

Work on the 500-metre structure, connecting Jessore Road with NH 34, began in January 2005. It was supposed to be ready within a year.

“The construction of the bridge has been delayed because of technical reasons and problems of coordinating with the railways,” said D. Bhattacharya, the PWD official overseeing the project. The bridge will be ready by February-end, claimed an official of the PWD roads wing.

Residents of Madhyamgram have to wait longer for their woes to end. An 836-metre overbridge — connecting Jessore Road with BT Road and the Kalyani-Barrackpore Expressway — is expected to be ready in March, two years behind schedule. Work began in October 2004.

“Some work on the railway tracks and finishing touches are left,” said Pulak Bhattacharya, the site-in-charge of the construction firm executing the project on behalf of the PWD.

Birati residents will have it even tougher. A stretch of about a km has been cordoned off for construction of a 650-metre overbridge.

“We started work in November 2006 and were supposed to finish within a year. But the work will continue till August this year,” said A. Ghosh, the site supervisor of the agency executing the project.

According to officials of the firm, concrete girders are being used instead of steel ones, making the construction more complex.

They alleged that delay by railway officials in granting permission to work on their land has made the deadlines go haywire.

“We are counting days for the ordeal to end,” said Arindam Saha, a member of Birati Traders Association.