Bhiwani residents hold protest over delay in completion of rly bridge

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, July 29

Enraged over the prolonged delay in the completion of the railway overbridge (RoB) project on the Rewari-Bathinda rail section in Bhiwani, residents of neighbouring localities have organised a sit-in at the construction site near the Jeetuwala railway crossing.

Jointly organised by the Rail Underpass Mahapanchayat, Sudhar Samiti and the numerous resident welfare associations, the dharna, according to the protesters, will not be lifted till the construction of the overbridge is completed.

Municipal council member Shiv Kumar Gothwal said due to the sluggish pace of the construction work, the road linking these localities to Bhiwani had remained closed for over two years, inconveniencing the residents as they had to take a much longer route to Bhiwani.

Inconvenience

Around 70,000 residents of the wards 18, 19, 20, 22, located in the Line Par area, are affected by the road closure due to the sluggish pace of construction. — Rohtash Verma, A Bhiwani resident

Rohtash Verma, a Bhiwani resident, said around 70,000 residents of the wards 18, 19, 20, 22, located in the Line Par area, are affected by the road closure. He added former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had laid the foundation stone of the RoB (LC 52) on October 27, 2020, and that the work started on April 13, 2021, but was not completed within its sanctioned timeline of 18 months.

Lala Pahlawan, head, Railway Underpass Mahapanchayat, said residents had staged a dharna in January 2018 to demand for construction of an overbridge at this railway gate. “It was under pressure from the residents that the state government approved the RoB. However, the work started only after intervention of Bhiwani-Mahendragarh MP Dharambir Singh in April 2021. But even after three years, the construction work was not completed. Now, we have to again resort to an indefinite dharna with the demand of its prompt completion,” he said.

Pahlawan said residents had requested the Chief Minister, MP, MLA, Deputy Commissioner multiple times to have the work expedited. “We have decided that if the work does not pick up pace before the elections, we will protest against the political leaders who come to seek votes in our localities,” he said.