People try to cross the busy Janpath at Saheed Nagar in Bhubaneswar. The absence of foot overbridges coupled with heavy traffic has made crossing this stretch a nightmare for pedestrians. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 28: People in the capital will have to wait for some more time before their demands for foot overbridges are met.

There has been no progress on the construction of three foot overbridges for which foundation stones were laid in the city on August 30, the Local Self-Government Day.

Sources said the project to be implemented in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode had failed to take off because of a delay in the floating of tenders for construction to begin.

The proposed bridges are to be constructed near Ramadevi Women’s College, Jaydev Vihar and Master Canteen Square. Sources in the public works department (PWD) claimed that the process of planning and formulating estimates for the projects was complete, but work is yet to begin.

“We have sent the plan and estimates to authorities of the Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation (BMC) four months ago,” said a senior PWD official.

The proposed foot overbridges would help pedestrians a lot. They face all kinds of problems because of the ongoing road expansion work from Vani Vihar to Master Canteen Square.

Moreover, because of heavy traffic, crossing the road has become very dangerous, especially for the elderly people.

Local councillors have also alleged negligence on part of the BMC.

“We have raised the issue in the past and demanded immediate action from the authorities but nothing has been done so far. Pedestrians are having a tough time. The sooner the foot overbridges are constructed, the better it is for the people,” said Subhransu Sekhar Patnaik, councillor of ward No. 20.

“The authorities show interest only during foundation laying ceremonies. But after when it comes to execution of the projects on the ground, there is no urgency,” said Gangadhar Behera, a local resident.

The footpaths have also been encroached upon by illegal occupants, further adding to the woes of pedestrians. Absence of zebra crossings at major traffic junctions is making matters worse.

Though the population of the capital has increased over the years, adequate steps have not been taken for the safety of pedestrians.

There is only one subway, which connects Unit-I daily market with Unit-II market building. No foot overbridges have yet been built.

The traffic department is also aware of the difficulties faced by the pedestrians.

“There is nothing we can do as the number of vehicles in the city has increased and at the same time road expansion work is being carried out at various places,” said a senior police officer working in the traffic department.

He also hoped that foot overbridges would be very helpful to ease the traffic congestion.

The design and model of the foot overbridges are yet to be finalised.

“As of now, the foot overbridges would be designed like the railway foot overbridge. Once the tenders are floated, the final design would be prepared based on the terms and conditions of the private entrepreneur,” said TBK Shroff, a city engineer.

Official sources in the BMC said that work has not yet started because of the delay in floating tenders.

“The estimate and planning are over and construction work will begin soon,” said city mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.