Bhubaneswar, Jan. 18: The progress of a flyover coming up in Rajmahal Square has been dismal in the past few days. It is the presence of two statues that have slowed down the work. The statues of Harekrushna Mahtab and Swami Vivekanand stand on the opposite sides of the Rajmahal crossing and need to be shifted to expedite the work.

The Rs 37.45-crore flyover will have 30 pillars of which 16 have already been constructed. However, for raising the pillars at the centre of the flyover, Public Works Department (PWD) — executing agency for the project — needs to barricade the square. For this, traffic from Master Canteen to Sishu Bhawan will have to be diverted through two temporary roads. But diverting the traffic would not be possible without removing the statues.

“The statue of Hare Krushna Mahtab needs to be shifted as the next pillar on the Kalpana Square side will be raised there. We need that patch of land to start work immediately. From foundation to the slab-level, the construction of a pillar takes a minimum of 60 days,” said a senior engineer of the roads and buildings division of PWD.

“Although work started in March 2009, it got delayed due to vending zones that came in the way. Now, when we are planning to raise the central pillars, the statues have come in the way. They need to be shifted urgently. Although the state government has directed authorities of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) to take steps for shifting, it is yet to be done,” he added.

Ashutosh Mallik, BDA engineering member, clarified that there was no delay on part of the authority. “We have to construct pedestals for the statues to be shifted at the new spots designated for them. We will be able to transfer the statues within three to four days.”

He said while the statue of Hare Krushna Mahtab will be shifted to a place near the Arts Block of BJB College, the statue of Swami Vivekananda would be relocated at Kalpana Park II. The official assured that the work was being done on a war footing.

Ashoka N. Dhar, chief horticulturist of BDA, added that for the first time the planning authority was going to shift a statue in the city.

“Before lifting the statues, experts have to ascertain the material they are made of. We will need big cranes and other supporting material for shifting them. Transporting them to the new site itself is a challenging job,” said Dhar.

He added: “We are going at full tilt. We have already readied the pedestals for shifting the statues. But we need experts for lifting a statue and presently there are no such experts in the city. The 11-foot high Mahtab statue weighs nearly five tonnes. One has to be careful while lifting it.”

Another retired senior engineer, who now works with a national-level engineering consultancy firm, said the flyover concept had become obsolete in European nations.

He also pointed out that the construction of pillars is being done in an old-fashioned manner. “These days such structures for even Metro rail projects are raised quickly by employing minimal manpower. Unfortunately, we are following obsolete technology,” he said.

Pointing out that the flyover had become necessary due to the heavy flow of traffic from AG Square and Kalpana areas, he said that instead of constructing a flyover the government could have widened the roads by acquiring more land and increased the area of Rajmahal Square. That way they could have solved the traffic problem as well.