RailEnquiry

KANPUR: Even after six years of laying of foundation stone of rail overbridge (ROB) at COD crossing, it stands incomplete causing inconvenience to the people. As part of their protests, BJP activists held a demonstration against the delay in the construction of this ROB.The railway crossing passing through the area has been a cause of severe traffic jam on the busy GT Road. To avoid jams at this crossing, the foundation stone of the ROB was laid by then minister of state for railways Narayan Bhai Rathwa, minister of roads and highways K H Munniyappa and coal minister Shriprakash Jaiswal.Due to various reasons, including rising cost of material and slow pace, the construction of the bridge got delayed. The Hyderabad-based construction company, which had been given the task of construction of the bridge, left the job.The construction also stopped midway because earlier, it was planned a two-lane bridge. Later on, the authorities decided that it would be a four-lane bridge. This increased the price of the construction and the construction company left the work. The rising cost forced the construction company to quit. Now, more than 80% of the work is still incomplete.Over 250 trains pass through this rail line. The gatemen have to close the railway crossing to allow the train to pass through. Due to the closure of the railway gates, the vehicles get stranded. The roadways buses, which used to ply through this crossing to reach Jajmau and beyond, including Ganga Bridge, Unnao and Luckow, now take Kidwai Nagar route, which is longer.This has also affected the people of the city as they end up with hiked travel expenses. The management of the Jhakarkati bus station was forced to increase the price of the ticket for travelling between Kanpur and Lucknow as bus drivers had started taking longer route.On the sixth anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone on Saturday, BJP activists led by Maharajpur MLA Satish Mahana held a demonstation at the site. They cut a cake to mark the sixth anniversary and made a mockery of the Central government. The bridge was to be completed in two years.