RESIDENTS OF Sector 19 and Baltana have raised their concerns pertaining to the delay in construction of Railway Over Bridge (ROB) over Chandigarh-Ambala railway line, linking Phase-1, Industrial Area and Sector 19. The construction work has already missed several deadlines, the most recent one being March 31. Earlier, amid high outrage among the public, the Sector 19 railway under bridge (RUB) was thrown open on April 10, this year.
Geetesh Solanki, a resident of Sector 19, Panchkula said, “The unnecessary delay in the completion of the overbridge is irking and costing us extra bucks for our daily transit. There is blame game going on between the authorities involved in the project. The completion of the project within this year would be nothing short of a miracle for the residents”.
Prabhat Monga of Sector 14 said, “The decision to open Sector 19 railway under bridge was taken in haste. The RUB has many flaws that need to be rectified immediately. Speed-breakers installed at the entry and exit points are elevated and hit the bottom of the car. There is no provision for lights and water drainage would also become a bigger problem during monsoon”.
When contacted for the reason for the delay, PWD Chief Engineer Bridges and Roads (B&R) Balraj Singh said, “The major reason for the delay is pandemic which halted 1.5 years of construction work, which was further delayed by railways. Installation of girders will be complete once the railways complete their work. The bridge will be operational within a month or a month and a half”.
The foundation stone for the project was laid by Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar in February 2019 and since then, the project has skipped various deadlines. The March 31 deadline was set by Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta.
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