The second railway over bridge proposed between HEC area and Birsa Chowk to ease the travellers’ troubles during Assembly sessions will be of no help to the travellers as construction work on it is behind schedule.
Drivers and pedestrians alike have to cross the railway tracks adjacent to Birsa Chowk as the only way to the junction – an old railway over bridge – is closed when the Assembly is in session to check advances from protestors staging dharnas here.
This bridge is on the way from Birsa Chowk to Harmu Bypass Road and Dhurwa via Jharkhand Assembly. Apart from that, people going to Hatia Railway Station or Birsa Munda Airport have to take a much longer route through Hinoo as streets to Birsa Chowk are closed.
With State’s lawmakers deliberating over policies in Assembly and pressure groups staging assemblies of their own at Birsa Chowk, commuters are forced to take the uncomfortable detour to get to the significant roundabout which leads to all major landmarks of the State capital.
“Presently we are working on the foundation of the railway over bridge (ROB). As of now, work is going on at HEC end. We faced a fold up at Birsa Chowk end in the form of some pipelines in the way of the excavation work for the foundation,” informed a South Eastern Railway official, requesting anonymity.
We are trying to get the pipelines out of the way before resuming work at Birsa Chowk, he further added.
Monsoon is also hindering work to some extent. With rains lashing the city, floor cutting for the foundation is not gaining speed, said the SER official.
“We were supposed to complete floor cutting before rains but it has been delayed. We are trying to complete it as soon as possible,” he said.
A joint venture between Ranchi Division of South Eastern Railway and government, this project was meant to easy thoroughfare to commuters when gates to Birsa Chowk are closed during Assembly sessions. The new over bridge will be built parallel to the old one that passes by Birsa Chowk.
“The girders to be used in constructing the railway over bridge have been delivered to us. Although we were supposed to finish work by December this year, it seems we will not be able to fulfil that deadline with the progress made so far. Even so, we will try to complete the bridge as soon as possible,” said the railway official.