Berhampur: Construction of two railway over bridges at the Gopalpur Junction and Ankuli in Berhampur have been long delayed and thousands of people are facing problems because of it.

People staying from Dura to Gopalpur and Bhanja Bihar, Lanjipalli and Ankuli areas have been demanding the railway overbridges be finished at the earliest.

The residents of these areas have to take the long route via the Engineering School Square, meaning they have to travel an extra 5km to get to the other side. Alternatively, they have to take another path through the Ramnagar level crossing, which was erected after the Lanjipalli level crossing was closed down for the construction of the over bridge.

Executive engineer of the state public works department (division II of Berhampur) A.K. Das admitted that the work of these two railway overbridges has been delayed. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone for the construction of the approach roads of these two structures on October 3, 2013.

The state government had sanctioned Rs 74 crore for the Gopalpur Junction railway overbridge. Similarly, Rs 43 crore was sanctioned for the Ankuli overbridg. Both were to be done under the direct supervision of the public works department, sources said.

"Replacement of old pipelines from the Rushikulya drinking water project and continuous rain delayed construction of the Gopalpur Junction overbridge while legal hurdles to land acquisition delayed the one at Ankuli," the executive engineer said. "Steps are being made to complete the work at Gopalpur in a month while the officials are working to complete the Ankuli project by December."

"The diversion roads have become muddy and slippery since the onset of the monsoon," said Bijayalaxmi Jena, a schoolteacher, who regularly rides a two-wheeler through the affected area.