| Railway overbridge in a rut due to fund crunch by Mafia on 17 July, 2013 - 03:00 AM | ||
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 Mafia | Railway overbridge in a rut due to fund crunch on 17 July, 2013 - 03:00 AM | |
The construction of the Railway overbridge (ROB) at Nettoor will be delayed owing to non-availability of funds, said Ernakulam Railway Area Manager P L Ashok Kumar.According to him, the plan was to start the construction of the ROB using the funds allotted by Union Minister K V Thomas. “However, we have not received any funds from him yet and the ROB work will be delayed,” Ashok said. He added that the minister had promised a total of Rs 3 crore for the project.“Now, we have learnt that he is unable to allot the fund due to some technical reason. We are awaiting a final decision from the minister in this regard,” he said.Ashok Kumar said they could have started the project by now if there wasn’t any fund crunch. “We cannot find the budget for the project as it was not proposed by the Railways. The ROB was the demand of the residents and hence we should get fund from MLA’s or MP’s in the area,” he added.He said the Railways have not conducted any procedures related to the ROB. “We have sent a rough plan to the higher authorities in Chennai. Otherwise, there is no major development,” he said.Meanwhile, the residents here are on the warpath against the delay in constructing the railway overbridge. According to them, the ROB will alleviate the traffic problems faced by more than 2,000 residents in Nettoor.“We have brought the issue before the municipal authorities, politicians and ministers, but to no avail. Some politicians are using the issue to gain political mileage and are not concerned about the people. We will initiate protests against the inaction of the authorities,” said ROB Samara Samithi members. They said the closure of a railway gate at Nettoor railway station has caused traffic congestion in the area. | ||