Mangaluru, November 26: The Padil-Bajal railway under-bridge works are still incomplete, the foundation for which was laid on August 16th, 2014 by the then union minister for railways D V Sadananda Gowda. The project was expected to be completed by February this year, and the same minister had given the deadline as June 30th, but the work does not seem to get compete soon.
The Padil-Bajal road was closed last October to undertake railway underpass works. The impending works has caused great trouble to residents of Padil, Bajal, Faisalnagar, Vijayanagar, Veeranagar, Jalligudde, and Alape. People have to walk to reach the main road as the approach road is closed. MCC has failed to complete the approach road on time and opened the underbridge for vehicular movement.
Though the work on the under-bridge is going on and it is not clear when it opens for the public. Land had to be acquired here for construction of approach roads.
Speaking to the media, Anand Prakash DRM of Palakkad division said, the railway department has finished the maximum work. On the other side that leads to Bajal, out of the 11 meters, work on 6 meters has been finished and by November 30th. the rest of the works will be finished. The MCC has to deposit Rs 1.13 crore, and though this amount is still outstanding, we have continued the work.
Mayor Jacintha Vijay Alfred speaking to the media said, there was delay due to the additional work that had to be taken up, such as construction of drain on the other side. The construction of approach road required land acquisition. Resolution has been passed in the council for all these works and once tender process is finished, the works would be started, she informed.
Speaking to the media, area Corporator Vijay Kumar said, for construction of approach road and drains, Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned and additional Rs 1.3 crore has also been granted for the payment to railway department. Now the work has been handed over to Nirmiti Kendra, which will start the work on the road approach and drain once the work by the railway department gets completed. The work may be completed within two–three months, he said.
