Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista trained guns at the Mamata Banerjee government for the delay in the construction of a flyover on Burdwan Road in Siliguri.
“The central government had released ₹61.54 crore for the flyover in the 2017-2018 fiscal, but the project has not yet ended. It is disappointing that people are facing inconvenience because of the unfinished flyover. The project was planned to mitigate traffic congestion in the city, but, on the contrary, the partially constructed structure has worsened the problem,” said Bista.
The MP said he had asked questions in the Parliament during the winter session on the Central Road & Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) utilisation in Bengal. Union minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, replied that the Centre had allocated over ₹1,736 crore from the CRIF to Bengal since 2019-2020.
“Out of it, the Bengal government has allocated only ₹80.34 crore to Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts. This again proves that the state government always neglects north Bengal,” said Bista.
The BJP legislator said he had sent a letter to Gadkari on Friday, seeking a probe to find out the reason for the “inordinate” delay in the construction.
“I have also requested him to direct the department concerned to conduct a technical assessment of the structural integrity of the completed portions of the flyover to ensure public safety and hope his intervention will expedite the project,” said Bista, who is also a national spokesperson for the BJP.
Observers have noted that the MP has raised an issue, as residents of the city, as well as regular visitors to Siliguri, are disgruntled with the unfinished flyover on a major
thoroughfare.
Sources in the state public works department (PWD), which is executing the project, said that the flyover’s completion was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and other reasons.
“As of now, most of the work has been done. The railway authorities have also initiated work on their portion (as the flyover will run over the tracks that connect Siliguri Town and Siliguri Junction stations). The PWD is expected to finish its work by January, and once the portion of the rail track is ready, it will take a few weeks to open it for traffic,” said a source in the department.