The Patliputra Junction. Picture by Deepak kumar

Patliputra Junction, the third major railway terminal of Patna, is set to become functional before Durga Puja after four postponements regarding its inauguration.

Constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore, the terminal would reduce the load on Patna Junction and Rajendra Nagar Terminus and prove to be a boon for people travelling to Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

East Central Railway (ECR) general manager Madhuresh Kumar on Sunday made this announcement at a function. “The railway station would become functional before Durga Puja as all the necessary work has been completed,” said the general manager.

The junction was scheduled to be inaugurated in April last year, then on August 15, then on September 6 and last on October 31, 2013. The last inauguration date was cancelled at the eleventh hour after former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge and former chief minister Nitish Kumar did not turn up to flag off two trains on the day of inauguration.

The trains could not be flagged off because the villagers of Rupaspur and Jalalpur village located 1km south of the Patliputra Junction sat on the railway track demanding construction of road and a foot overbridge in their area.

Asked about the demand of the villagers, who had earlier staged protests and other obstacles the railway was facing in the inauguration of the junction, Madhuresh said: “There were some issues with the villagers. However, the co-ordination between the state government and the railways has solved the issue and their demands have also been put under serious consideration. The railways has been in talk with the villagers and things have improved now and there is no looking back. Pataliputra Junction would become functional before Durga Puja.”

The commissioner of railway safety gave the green light to run the trains in November 2012.

Located 12km northwest of Patna Junction, Paltiputra Junction can help ease the pressure on the other two terminals through which around 350 trains pass daily.

According to sources in the railway, the state government and railways have come to the conclusion of repairing a 1km stretch of road in bad shape, which is used by residents in nearby areas. Construction the foot overbridge at the place where the road ends is not in the plan and a decision would be taken later. As things stand now, the villagers have agreed upon not creating further problem for the railways.

Expressing happiness over the announcement, a resident of Ashiana Nagar, Nilesh Kumar, said: “Finally, the railway station is going to become functional and I hope that railway officials keep their word.”