Credit war breaks out as Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann opens rly overbridge on Dinanagar-Behrampur road

Ravi Dhaliwal

Dinanagar, July 29

A credit war broke out between the AAP and the Congress hours before Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann inaugurated the railway overbridge on the Dinanagar-Behrampur road today.

Notwithstanding politicking, the 730-m bridge, constructed at a cost of Rs 52 crore, will prove to be a boon for 12,000 inhabitants of nearly 150 villages living across the railway track. Farmers, in particular, will be a relieved lot as they had to encounter problems in bringing their produce to Dinanagar. There are several schools, colleges, a polytechnic college, rice mills and hospitals on the other side of the track. People had to stand in queues for long time as the railway crossing shut down several times during the day.

Constructed at a cost of Rs 52 crore

• Dinanagar sitting Congress MLA Aruna Choudhury claimed she had asked the state government to take up the project on priority following public demand during her tenure as MLA
• “I had convinced the then Congress MP Sunil Jakhar to lay its foundation stone in February 2019,” she said
• The 730-m bridge, constructed at a cost of Rs 52 crore, will prove to be a boon for 12,000 inhabitants of nearly 150 villages

Dinanagar is located on the busy Pathankot-Gurdaspur-Batala-Amritsar line.

AAP leaders and the officials of the district administration kept their fingers crossed in the morning as dark clouds hung like a thick canopy over the area.

Dinanagar sitting Congress MLA Aruna Choudhury claimed she had asked the Punjab Government to take up the project on priority following public demand during her tenure as MLA from 2017-2022.

State govt paid every penny

Normally, when a railway overbridge is constructed on a state or national highway, the state government and the Railways equally share the costs. However, this bridge has been built on a link road. Going by norms formulated by the Railways, the Punjab Government had to foot the entire bill. —Aruna Choudhury, Dinanagar MLA

The bridge has been established in the India Roads Congress (IRC)-70R category. This means heavy traffic, including tanks, can commute on it. The International Border (IB) lies on the other side of the railway line.

This is the only railway overbridge in Punjab that has come up with the state government providing 100 per cent finances. “Normally, when a railway overbridge is constructed on a state or national highway, the state government and the Railways equally share the costs. However, this bridge has been built on a link road. Going by norms formulated by the Railways, the Punjab Government had to foot the entire bill. I had convinced the then Congress MP Sunil Jakhar to lay its foundation stone in February 2019,” said MLA Choudhury.

Officials revealed the design was passed twice as the Railways had rejected the first proposal. “When the Punjab Government took the first design, prepared by the PWD, to the Railways officials in New Delhi, they said the height of the bridge needs to be increased as the Railways were going in for electrification of the track. Hence, a low-height bridge would act as an impediment in the electrification process. That is why the second design was prepared and subsequently approved,” said an official.