Title - New railway underbridge to lessen commuter woes

JAMSHEDPUR: The construction of the bridge under the railway line near the Tata Pigment Company in Jugsalai is set to see the light of the day after several delays.The project was initially scheduled to be commissioned in November 2012, but owing to unspecified delay attributed to the divisional office, the construction work is set to start in September 2013.The engineering department officials of Tatanagar railway section along with the contractor of the firm entrusted with the responsibility of building the bridge visited the site on Wednesday to study the ground realities ahead of commissioning of the work. The three-member panel led by AEN Tatanagar R P Meena did a recce of the site near the existing underbridge on the directive of the Chakradharpur divisional office of South Eastern Railway zone.The estimated expenditure of the construction work is Rs 5.7 crore and it is set to be completed in three months. An official of the Tatanagar railway section said, "If things go according to plan, the new bridge will be built by 2014."

More than 2.5 lakh residents of Jugsalai, Baghbera, Pursudih and other areas in the periphery of the Steel City have been facing a lot of trouble in going over to Bistupur, barely a few kilometers away, owing to the absence of a proper bridge.

"The underbridge will lessen the need for using level crossing and will certainly help us in preventing fatal accidents, which had risen over the years," said Jugsalai resident Manjit Singh, one of the campaigners for the early commencement of construction of the bridge.