Orissa High Court

Cuttack, May 17: Orissa High Court today issued notices to the Union railway ministry for alleged delay in construction of the second railway overbridge on the Kathajodi river in Cuttack.

A PIL contended that construction work for the second overbridge over the Kathajodi river connecting Cuttack to Balikuda and Balikuda to Barang was started with a two-year completion period after chairman of the railway board had given concurrence for it in 2003-04.

Though over six years have since elapsed, the construction work is not over progressing at a “snail’s speed”, the PIL contended.

Ramakanta Mishra (65), a resident of Cuttack, filed the PIL seeking direction to the general manager of the East Coast Railways to complete the overbridge “within a stipulated period”.

The petition said the East Coast Railways had already developed five platforms for passengers and two for goods at the Cuttack railway station to accommodate plying of all passenger trains. But, due to non-completion of the overbridge over the Kathajodi river passenger trains were being diverted from Barang causing hardship for commuters both from Cuttack and people from other areas.

“After a preliminary hearing today, the division bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra issued notices to the Union railway ministry, chairman of the railway board and general manager of the East Coast Railways,” petitioner counsel S.N. Sangneria told The Telegraph today.

The petition contended that completion of the overbridge would ease rail traffic between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and movement of all passenger trains between the two cities instead of diversion from Barang towards Naraj.

The inter-city passenger trains running between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela and Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur are not passing through Cuttack railway station. As a result, people either use Dhenkanal or Bhubaneswar stations to reach Cuttack. The city houses Orissa High Court, board of revenue, state police headquarters along with the DGP’s office and some other headquarters of government wings such as, commercial tax and many more, the petition contends. Commuters from Cuttack are forced to travel all the way either to Dhenkanal or Bhubaneswar to travel in the two inter-city trains.