Nangal railway overbridge set to miss March 31 deadline

Tribune News Service

Arun Sharma

Nangal, January 18

Local residents as well as commuters, including a large number of tourists, will have to wait for at least six more months to get relief from frequent traffic jams on the Nangal-Dharamsala road in the town as the work on the railway overbridge (ROB) and a rotary on one of the ends of the bridge has been halted owing to technical reasons.

One end of the flyover connects with a road that falls on land belonging to National Fertilisers Limited (NFL). It’s apprehended that plying of heavy vehicles could damage underground pipelines laid decades ago in the area. Moreover, the railway authorities are yet to shift a power substation so that a pillar near the rail track can be raised.

The bridge, built more than 60 years ago, is not wide enough to cater to the increasing vehicular traffic. So, the NHAI approved a railway overbridge near Nangal Dam, a high-level bridge on the Sutlej and another ROB near Ajouli Mor in December 2017.

The construction of Rs 82-crore project comprising an ROB and a high-level bridge on the Sutlej has already been delayed by more than three years due to one reason or the other. Now, the authorities want the deadline of the project extended from March 31 till July 31.

The work on the 1.37-km project started in August 2018 and was to be completed in August 2019.

The general arrangement drawing (GAD) submitted by the railway authorities was approved on June 21, 2017, and the work on the project was started in August 2018.

The Railways, on February 5, 2019, submitted an amended GAD and changed it for the third time for including a subway near the bus stand that was approved on December 3, 2019, while the work on the rest of the project was continuing.

Local shopkeepers raised objection over constructing the subway as they apprehended losing their business due to it and an agitation was launched forcing the PWD (Central Works) to halt the work.

After the lockdown and followed by the agitation of the people, the Railways dropped the subway from the project on January 5, 2022, and the work started at a snail’s pace as new approvals due to frequent changes in drawings were required.

The PWD XEN (Central Works), Devinder Bajaj, said, “A pre-stressed slab is required to be laid in the NFL area to protect underground pipelines. A proposal in this regard with a budget of Rs 6 crore has been submitted. Similarly, the Railways also needs to shift its power supply substation to commence the work. The project will be completed within few months after completion of these two formalities. Ninety four per cent work of the project has already been completed.”

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