Metalled pillars installed on Rego rly overbridge

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, January 16

Weeks after an iron bar was damaged after a heavy vehicle climbed over the 130 years old Rego railway overbridge (ROB), the authorities have now installed vertical metalled pillars to allow the passage of only two-wheelers and rickshaws. The iron bars were ironically installed to prevent the plying of heavy vehicles on the railway overbridge.

Traffic scenario in the city has deteriorated to the extent that restrictions had to be imposed on the movement of heavy vehicles on the colonial era ROB to prevent any accident. The railway overbridge connects the GT Road with Gobindgarh Fort and is vital for the smooth flow of city’s traffic. It provides a shorter route to the commuters coming from Nawakot and Islamabad areas and villages located behind these areas to the city.

Concerned residents want the government to shoulder the responsibility timely as the ROB has long outlived its utility. Parvinder Singh, a local resident, said people risk their lives by commuting over the ROB which has potholes, cracks and fissures. He said a way to the Railway Colony also passes underneath the ROB, so the railways must shoulder the responsibility.

Another resident Saurav Arora said he commutes daily over the ROB to pick and drop his children who study in a school located across the ROB. Leaders and officials must always remain aware of the fact that they are there for the welfare of the people and must reconstruct the ROB soon to avoid the occurrence of any mishap, Arora said and added that reconstruction was long overdue.

Declared unsafe years ago, concrete material of the upper surface of the ROB has been peeling off and pits have emerged at several spots. All these years, commuters have been complaining of a bumpy ride with pits and puddles while the flow of traffic has increased manifold on the ROB.

Considered one of the oldest bridges in the city built by the British after the annexation of Punjab, the ROB was repaired way back in 1982.

Civic body authorities refused to grant approval for deep excavation to construct the basement of commercial buildings close to the ROB as it may cause trouble to the over a century old structure.

Dr Seema Sharma, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur zone, assured that the railways would re-construct the ROB.