Dinanagar, August 19: The state government has cleared the construction of a railway overbridge (RoB) over one of the busiest railway crossings here. The project is expected to give respite to thousands of residents as the crossing is closed several times in a day. Cabinet Minister and local legislator Aruna Chaudhary impressed upon Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh about the need for an RoB, following which Rs 30 crore was sanctioned.
Dinanagar falls in the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency, which will witness a bypoll later this year.
An officer overseeing the project says the Railways’ permission is a mere formality as the road over which the RoB will be constructed falls under the “planned road category” and the state government will be spending money on it.
Social activist Sunil Dutt says, “On the other side of the crossing are four schools, five rice mills, a grain market, a polytechnic college and a cluster of dozen villages, having a combined population of 12,000 near the border. Sometimes schools are forced to open 90 minutes behind schedule. When terror alerts are sounded, Army and BSF convoys commute on the road.”
He adds the good part is that the project had been cleared under the India Roads Congress (IRC)-70 R category. This means that means heavy traffic, including tanks, can commute on the RoB.
Realtors say property rates of agriculture and commercial land in the city are bound to increase.
The RoB will also be a boon for sugarcane farmers of villages located near the border. At present, they take a longer route to reach Paniyar sugar mill.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
