Rain proves dampener as Shinde inaugurates 9 railway overbridges

In his address, Gadkari said,"This is an effort to eliminate chances of accidents in Maharashtra by converting all railway gates into overbridges. This project will go a long way in finding favour with citizens."

Nitin Gadkari, CM Eknath Shinde, nine railway overbridges innauguration, overbridges bhoomi pujan, Gadkari via video-conferencing, police women trainee group, indian express, indian express news

CM Eknath Shinde and others at Pune Police Parade Ground in Pune on Sunday, as Union minister Nitin Gadkari attends the event through video-conferencing. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)

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Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated nine railway overbridges and participated in the bhoomi pujan of 11 more such bridges in the state, with Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari attending the event via video-conferencing. However, unexpected showers in Pune led to a poor turnout at the event with the CM arriving at a near empty “mandap” at the police ground. Officials then asked a group of police women trainees to be part of the audience.

In his speech, Shinde said, “Normally, railway overbridges take time to be built, sometimes 10 or 14 years. But these railway overbridges were completed in record time. This is what happens when state and central governments team up.”

The CM also said that efforts taken by Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (MAHARAIL) to complete the projects quickly will push development of the state.

In his address, Gadkari said,”This is an effort to eliminate chances of accidents in Maharashtra by converting all railway gates into overbridges. This project will go a long way in finding favour with citizens.”

The nine railway overbridges were constructed at a cost of Rs 440 crore, and the 11 new ones will cost an estimated Rs 700 crore. The overbridges have been constructed by MAHARAIL along with the state’s Public Works Department and Railway Ministry, and will cover Ahmednagar, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Dharashiv, Thane, Palghar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Buldhana and Nagpur.