TIRUCHY: Finally, the wheels of the administration started turning and the city corporation on Monday floated a tender for the reconstruction of the 157-year-old railway over bridge near Maris theatre in Tiruchy. The bridge, constructed in 1866, got the local body's attention only when it developed cracks during the rain in 2020. Though the corporation team conducted strengthening works in 2021, the reconstruction was put in the pipeline for approval from higher authorities.
According to the corporation, the last date and time for submission of tender is April 5 at 3 pm. Officials said that if the last date of submission turns into a government holiday, the tender will be received till 3 pm on the next day. Senior officials said that they have taken care to avoid further delay in reconstruction. "We have already floated the tender. We'll need at least 30 days to scrutinise the tenders, and it will be awarded to the lowest bidder," a corporation engineer said. If everything goes well, the corporation is likely to award the tender by June, officials said.
Though the corporation has cleared the decks for the reconstruction, it will still have to wait for fund and design approval from the railway. Senior corporation officials said that their team is in touch with the railway on this matter. "It is a 50-50 project and we would spend about Rs 34 crore. Similarly, the railway would also have to spend the same amount. We are already in touch with the Indian Railways. Once the tender formalities are completed, we would update developments to the top brass of the Indian Railways," a senior corporation official said.
Meanwhile, residents pointed out that efforts need to be taken to avoid further bureaucratic delay on the matter. "It would have been better if the administration started reconstruction when the bridge developed cracks, but, they didn't do that and wasted two years getting approval. We hope that authorities would take steps to avoid further delay," said NS Rajadurai, a senior citizen and resident of Thillai Nagar. Photo Caption: A view of the fort station railway overbridge near Maris theatre in Tiruchy on Wednesday. M K Ashok Kumar