The Ramanathapuram –Kilakarai railway overbridge (ROB) work remained stuck for more than four months as the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) board ‘delayed’ the shifting of electric poles and water pipelines.

After commencing the civil works in December, 2018, Madurai based ‘M/s SAL & Co., which won the contract, had put the work on fast track, raising seven spans, six on the Kilakarai side and one on the Ramanathapuram side in just one month but could not proceed further as the electric poles and Cauvery water pipelines came in the way.

Well before the project taking final shape, the Project division of Highways, the executing agency had presented requisition to the TWAD board in May, 2013 to relay the Cauvery drinking water pipelines and to the TANGEDCO in March, 2015 to shift the electric poles and a transformer but both the agencies failed to accede to the requisition, Highways officials said.

The department had paid Rs 32 lakh to TANGEDCO for shifting 20 electric poles and a transformer and Rs 83.5 lakh to the TWAD board for relaying the pipelines and awaited revised estimates from the two departments, officials said.

When contacted TANGEDCO officials said they could not finalise the revised estimate as the Highways failed to specify the alternative locations for shifting the poles. The TWAD board too said that they awaited approval of the revised estimate from the head office in Chennai.

As per the terms, the contract company would build the approach roads, including elevated portion from both the sides at the cost of Rs 25.60 crore while the Railways would build the bridge portion across the railway lines at the cost of Rs 5.14 crore. The approach roads will have 14 spans, they said. EOM