CAUGHT IN TIME WARP

Bhuabeneswar, March 11: Motorists are being forced to continue with bone-shattering rides across various railway level crossings in the city as the works department and the railway have failed to expedite the construction of road overbridges at various points that have been going on for the past three years.

Work for the rail overbridges at Saheed Nagar, VSS Nagar and Pokhariput started around 2012-2013. But the projects are still far from completion.

"The work of these overbridges is progressing at a snail's pace. The ongoing works also hamper vehicular movement in these busy areas. Four-wheelers are not supposed to be allowed near the narrow construction site at Saheed Nagar. A board has also been installed there notifying the vehicular restrictions. However, one can see even heavy vehicles passing through the stretch every day. This, along with dumping of construction materials on roadsides, and damaged road continue to choke traffic on the stretch," said driver Ramakant Mahanad.

The situation at the VSS Nagar is overbridge construction site is no better. There are two level crossings at VSS Nagar, one of which is used to reach the Mancheswar Industrial Estate. That is why the administration had planned a two-way railway overbridge here.

"More than 100 trains pass through these lines every day. It becomes difficult when two to three trains pass at one time. If we close the gates for even a mere five minutes, it crates a huge traffic snarl. It poses a danger when we have to close the gate while the traffic was heavy between the lines," said a gateman at the VSS Nagar level crossing.

Former executive engineer of roads of the public works department B.C. Pradhan told The Telegraph that the construction at these sites was progressing at a slow pace due to various reasons, including agitation by encroachers, problems in acquiring land and court cases.

An East Coast Railway official said they had completed their part of the work, which is constructing the main structure of the bridge over the railway lines, long ago.

Pradhan said the construction of VSS Nagar rail overbridge was almost over, while about half of the work was pending at construction sites in Pokhariput and Saheed Nagar.

"The work on the road overbridges near level crossings has been taken up with equal funding proportions of the state government and the railway. The works department has had hard time acquiring lands at each of these bridges, but most of the problems have been resolved now," said Pradhan.

Another source in the works department said the construction of the Saheed Nagar overbridge remained stalled for long as a few government quarters and a major portion of an ESIC dispensary had to be demolished. "However, the problem was resolved at a high-level government meeting held recently," said the official.

The funding for the rail overbridges was approved in the budget of 2008-09. The Saheed Nagar overbridge was expected to come up at an estimated cost of Rs 35 crore, while the two overbridges at VSS Nagar were supposed to cost Rs 49 crore and Rs 47 crore, respectively. The Pokhariput overbridge has been estimated at Rs 44 crore.