Alteration in design delaying construction of Dipti Signal bridge
| Date :29-Nov-2022 |
By Vikas Vaidya
Whenever any construction work takes place, the commuters keep suffering till the completion of project. In city, citizens are suffering at most places because of slow pace of works, especially that of bridge construction. East Nagpur is the major victim of such lingered project. Neither Government, nor any private agency is taking into account the people’s inconvenience, due to which the whole surrounding area gets affected.
At present, such type of problem is being faced by common citizens due to the delayed construction of Dipti Signal bridge. The reason behind delay in completion of Dipti Signal bridge lies in the alteration in its original plan. This change in plan has brought to fore the casual approach of Government to the fore. When the construction of bridge was planned, how come the alteration in design was not thought of in the beginning itself.
As per the original plan the bridge was to begin from near Pagariya lawn, now Pagariya hospital, and to end at Hanuman Chowk towards Dipti Signal, going over a railway crossing. A railway overbridge (RoB) is under construction at spot owing to gauge conversion work on at Nagpur-Nagbhid railway line. To avoid inconvenience to citizens, the RoB is planned.
A 1.4 km long RoB is being constructed by Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (MRIDC).
As per information, work started in 2020 with plan to finish it by March 2023. Original bridge design was altered and now a Y-shaped RoB is under construction . Along with going towards Dipti Signal, its one part will turn towards Kalamna where it will slope at Minimata Nagar. After the completion of the bridge, the level crossing will be closed. The access for two-wheelers will continue through underpass which is being constructed on the side of the bridge. The underpass too will have Y shape--one towards Dipti Signal and other towards Kalamna.
There are two versions about the construction of this bridge. According to Krishna Khopde, MLA of East Nagpur, the work has started just a six months ago and the Andhra Pradesh-based construction company PVR is doing work with a speed. If the work has started six months ago then the speed of construction can be termed as fantastic.
Bur the official version from Vinay Toke, Public Relations Officer of MRIDC is different than what Khopde said. He told The Hitavada, “Bridge work began in the year 2020 and scheduled to complete in 2023. I have no idea about its route.”
Duneshwar Pethe, City President of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Adv Abhijit Wanjari, MLC criticised an unnecessary delay in completion of the bridge. Adv Wanjari had contested assembly polls from this constituency Both claimed that the construction began one and a half years ago and going on with snail’s pace making citizens suffer a lot. Khopde blamed MRIDC for changing design after the start of construction. He said, “MRIDC should have planned everything during the creation of design. Because of change in design, the project gets delayed unnecessarily.”
The construction supervisor, a garage owner and a regular commuter all shared their agony with this Correspondent. They said, “The bridge work is going on for the last one and a half years. If you see around then you would see the construction is going on in a haphazard manner, roads have come up, traffic movement is facing inconvenience, there is a lot of dust around and we all are the sufferers of it. It is very difficult to estimate about the completion of work.”
There are only pillars everywhere. The construction work of bridge towards Kalamna has not started yet. Against this backdrop, it is difficult to say that the bridge would be completed even within a year.