Land problems have cast a cloud on the commissioning of a newly built bridge over river Subernarekha, connecting Birsanagar (near Telco) with NH-33 on the eastern fringes of Jamshedpur.
Construction of the Rs 11-crore link - one of the two bridges set up 7km apart to offer easy access to NH-33 - was completed six months ago, but work on a road connecting it with the highway in Barabanki is held up due to opposition by local villagers. This is because a portion of the link road, which is being built by road construction department, passes through raiyati (private) land.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, executive engineer of road construction department, Jamshedpur division, said that Rs 10 crore had been sanctioned for building roads on both ends of the bridge - one leading to the city and the other towards NH-33 - a year ago.
"On the city-end, we could undertake construction for 3km up to Hurlung. We also started building a 5km stretch from Barabanki to NH-33, when suddenly this land problem cropped up. This 5km road passes through a stretch of raiyati land. The owners are not inclined to part with their land. This is why the road construction project has been held up for eight months," Singh told The Telegraph .
A resident of Barabanki, Parmeswar Gope, said they would not part with their land at any cost. "This is our land. We cannot give it to the government. Compensation is not a factor. If the government is so keen on this road, it should divert it through any other area where there is government land," Gope added.
The other bridge, which leads from Luabasa near Govindpur to Kastulia and finally, to NH-33 - is also ready, but the department is yet to sanction funds for the connecting road.
B.K. Verma, executive engineer of special division, East Singhbhum, said they had already completed the river links at the two sites.
"We also constructed the approach roads, having length of 285 metres and width of 5.5 metres, on either ends of the two bridges. Now, it is the road construction department's responsibility to build the roads leading to NH-33 on one side and the steel city on the other," Verma said.
The idea behind setting up the two bridges at Rs 11 crore each on the eastern part of the city is to decrease vehicular load on Dimna Road in Mango, which is presently the only link between the steel city and NH-33.
While the twin links are 7km from each other, the Birsanagar-Barabanki bridge is closer to the steel city and is 12km from Jai Prakash Setu in Mango. About 1.5 lakh vehicles, including two-wheelers and multi-axle vehicles, pass through Dimna Road every day, triggering traffic chaos.
