RailEnquiry

Rogue blocks are blocking smooth completion of the second entry to Tatanagar station.Railway officials say around half a dozen buildings, including hotels and vehicle repairing shops, have not yet vacated land for the project.“The land on which the approach road to the footbridge from Burmamines end is to be made is not free from encroachments. This is a serious hurdle. Owing to this, we are unable to convert the abandoned overbridge into a footbridge,” said station manager Rajeshwar Choudhary.Tatanagar will become the second railway station after Howrah under South Eastern Railway (SER) to have a second entry. Work had begun in April last year and the first deadline expires this month.The new entrance will benefit passengers coming from Sakchi, Golmuri, Baridih and Telco. At present, they have to cross an overbridge to reach Tatanagar via Station Road.Railway officials at Garden Reach, the headquarters of SER, said the entry from Burmamines end could be opened from June if encroachments were removed. “It is the responsibility of the local administration to ensure that the land is made free for the project,” said an official.He, however, said the administration was helpless as the matter was pending in Jharkhand High Court.Senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur K.N. Biswas admitted that encroachments were delaying the project. “We are hopeful that things will be sorted out by June. The commissioner of railway safety has given the nod for converting the overbridge into a footbridge for passengers entering the premises from the second gate,” he said.

Officials of the engineering and construction wing said the new entrance would decongest Tatanagar, an A-category station that witnesses a daily footfall of around 60,000 passengers.