Panchkula railway overbridge misses another deadline

Amit Bathla

Panchkula, April 6

It seems Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta’s directions have not had any effect on the officials concerned with the Sector 19 railway overbridge (ROB) being built on the Chandigarh-Ambala railway line. After the project missed several deadlines, March 31 was fixed as the “latest target”. However, it failed to meet this one too.

What gupta says

The Railways doesn’t come under our jurisdiction. After every review meeting, it promises that it will complete the project soon, but fails to keep its word.” To provide relief to area residents, a railway underbridge (RUB) will be thrown open soon. Gian Chand Gupta Haryana Speaker

The foundation stone of the project was laid by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in 2019, but is yet to see the light of day. Gupta presided over review meetings for the early completion of the project, but his efforts have failed to yield the desired results so far.

“It was expected. We have lost hope of its completion, at least for another year,” said a resident of Sector 19.

Covid-19 had been attributed as the main reason for the delay. It was stated that pending work on the part of the Railways caused a delay in the completion of the project. Once that was done, the PWD (B&R) would take another 10 days to give it the finishing touches.

A group of local residents had even dared Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal to resign if the project missed another deadline. According to residents, they not just feel virtually isolated due to poor connectivity, but also have to spend extra money on fuel as they are forced to take a longer route to reach other parts of the city.