Notice to TN govt on plea to complete Ramanathapuram-Keelakarai railway overbridge project 

MADURAI:  The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the State government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking direction for speedy completion of the Ramanathapuram-Keelakarai railway overbridge project.

The litigant, G Thirumurugan of Ramanathapuram, submitted that there is a railway crossing at Ramanathapuram to Keelakarai road and due to frequent movement of trains, the public is affected as they are unable to use the road.

To address the issue, the State government announced in 2018 that it would build an overbridge there, with a total length of 675.56 meters and a width of 11 metres, at a cost of Rs 23.89 crore. Though the foundation stone for the project was laid in 2018 itself and the works were expected to be completed within two years, the construction of the overbridge is still not over, Thirumurugan alleged. He requested the court to direct the authorities to complete the work soon. A Bench of justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad issued notice to the authorities concerned and adjourned the case for two weeks.