The plot in Chaigadda where the new station complex is scheduled to come up. Picture by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad, April 7: Finally, decks have been cleared for the development of the southern side of Dhanbad railway station, along with a separate road from Jharia, twin moves that will benefit thousands of passengers who come from nearby areas of Katras, Putki, Digwadih, Patherdih and Jamadoba.

On Tuesday, railway authorities invited tenders for various projects worth Rs 4.8 crore that include construction of another station complex near Chaigadda which is to be equipped with various facilities, including booking counters for both unreserved and reserved tickets, a waiting hall, an enquiry office, parcel office and a parking lot.

Divisional railway manager of the Dhanbad division of East Central Railway Anand Sagar Upadhyay explained that both projects had already been sanctioned and have the approval of the Railway Board.

While work on the new station complex was to be completed by the railways, the road project would be carried out by the state government.

The railway has already allotted land for the new approach road and is hoping that work on the new complex will be completed by the end of the current financial year.

Highlighting the advantages of the project, the DRM said the development of the south side of the Dhabi railway station, besides de-congesting the main station, would also help reduce traffic on the road near Gaya bridge as passengers from Jharia, Katras, Putki and other areas would not have to travel through the Bank More bridge to reach the main station.

“With the increasing number of passengers at Dhanbad station, the new station complex will also facilitate easy entry and exit of passengers,” Upadhyay said.

“Although a ticket counter is already running at the south side, we will add three or four more at the new station,” he added.

Upadhyay hoped that in addition to establishing the Jharia road, the district administration would allow city buses to run up to the new station complex to help passengers.

“The Chaigadda area, where railway land has been encroached upon, will also be cleaned up as soon as work on the new station complex begins,” the DRM added.

Senior divisional commercial manager of the railways Samir Kumar pointed out that though the state government had initiated work on the road from Jharia bridge to the new station complex, they expected the local administration to speed up work and ensure its timely completion.

General secretary of Federation of Dhanbad Zilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rajiv Sharma, who is also a member of the Zonal Railway User’s Consultative Committee, welcomed the development.

He said, “We expect the state government to further help passengers of Jharia by extending the new road from the station to Joraphatak for better connectivity.”