Slow pace of work delays ROB projects in Palwal

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Palwal , July 27

The construction of two Railway Overbridges (ROB) in Palwal district taken up three years ago, has been marred by delay and sluggish work. Announced to be completed in March 2020, these ROBs are not expected to be ready before another one year.

The foundation of the ROBs at Rasulpur and Bamni khera villages in the district was laid June and September respectively in 2018 to improve accessibility and connectivity between various parts of the district hurdled by the passing of the railway track, said officials in the district administration.

While the work was taken by the Haryana State Roads and Bridge Development Corporation (HSRDC), the deadline of the projects of both the ROBs, which was 24 months(two years), has already been jumped. The construction work has been hampered due to various factors, including the shifting of power lines and delay in resolving the technical issues with other departments like the Railways, resulting in the project missing the deadline and increase in the completion time of the projects.

Blaming lack of seriousness on part of the authorities, Harit Baisla, a resident of Badoli village, said delay had inconvenienced commuters of several villages as they had to take a longer route to reach their destination thus spending more time and money. Demanding a probe into the delay, Satpal of Kamrawali village said lack of fixing accountability of officials or contractors had led to slow pace of work. The ROBs are expected to benefit several villages which include Hosangabad, Rasulpur, Badoli, Acheja, Kusak, Batka, Amroli, Sultanpur, Rahimpur, Lohagarh,Lulwari, Bawana, Tappa Billochpur, Satwagarhi, Maholi, Kamrawali, Karimpur, Missa, Batta, Satuagarhi and Hasanpur , it is claimed.

Claiming that besides pending work on part of The Railways, certain technical issues have led to the delay, Rahul Singh, Executive Engineer, HSRDC, said it was expected to pick up speed soon. DC Naresh Narwal said both the ROBs were expected to be ready by March 2022.