ROURKELA: Two key road over bridge (ROB) projects on the busy Howrah-Mumbai main line of South Eastern Railway (SER) are stuck in court litigation while two others are pending at planning stage in the city.
As Howrah-Mumbai railway track runs through the centre of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) limits, continuous movement of trains slows down traffic and daily commuters have to suffer in the absence of adequate ROBs.
Sources said tender was recently floated for ROB project at Malgodam level crossing here with an estimated cost of `46.95 crore, but one of the bidders moved the court challenging its terms and conditions. The project is of immense significance as it would run over the congested Malgodam slum and also enable direct passage to populated Basanti Colony. The ROB also envisages connecting the newly-laid four-lane from Basanti Colony to Doorsanchar Bhawan which leads to the newly-constructed second entrance of Rourkela railway station.
The railway gate at Malgodam level crossing remains closed most of the time and daily commuters have to either wait for long or take the alternative Basanti Colony ROB to reach the other side of the city.
Similarly, the ROB proposal over Kukudagate level crossing on the outskirts of Rourkela city with a cost of `44.45 crore is stuck due to court litigation.
Sub-Divisional Officer of Public Works Department (PWD) M K Dalabehera said the ROB projects for Malgodam and Kukudagate are awaiting court orders. The ROB proposals over IDC and Kalunga level crossings are in different stages of planning, he added.
As per report, the PWD is preparing estimate for the ROB proposal at IDC Industrial Estate Area and it would be placed before the SER for approval. Similarly, the ROB proposal over Kalunga level crossing could not make much headway with the SER coming up with third railway line on Howrah-Mumbai route. Recently, the SER provided track drawing to the PWD. All these ROB proposals have 50:50 cost sharing between the PWD and SER. About 150 passenger and goods trains ply on the route daily.