Odisha: Hope for road over bridge at SER main line brightens

SUNDARGARH: The commuting woes of the people of Rajgangpur town in Sundargarh district are set to end soon with the State Government floating a tender for a road over bridge (ROB) at Bagichapada level-crossing which passes through the busy Howrah-Mumbai main line.

Sources said the ROB will save time of commuters who regularly get stuck at Bagichapada level-crossing for 30 to 40 minutes to reach the other end. The Howrah-Mumbai line equally divides the town and crossing to the other side is often a nightmare for the commuters on both the sides.Sources in South Eastern Railway (SER) said on an average about 130 trains ply daily on the route which has about 47 passenger trains, including 10 weekly or tri-weekly trains and 65 goods trains. Traffic volume on the route is growing by 8 to 9 per cent annually, they said.

To be jointly constructed by the Government and SER, the estimated cost of the project is `28 crore and it would take at least three years to complete.The bridge, however, has been a long standing demand of the locals. Rajgangpur Municipality Chairperson Sushrita Paikray said demand for an ROB is more than three decades old and veteran BJD leader and Rajagangpur MLA Mangla Kishan has been pushing for it since 2000. The BJD Government finally responded to the demand and floated a tender. As the existing level-crossing at Bagichapada is highly congested, Public Works Department (PWD) has changed the location of the proposed ROB at Traction Colony near Goshala with a new alignment, she said and added that a few days ago, demarcation was completed at the proposed location.

The need for a road over bridge gains importance with the rise in population of the area. As per 2011 Census, about 51,000 residents live in areas under Rajgangpur Municipality limits.