A delayed Foot over Bridge (FoB) Project over a railway line in Govind Nagar, Moradabad (UP) has hit the pace of daily life for locals. It won’t be hyperbolic to say that commuters have been risking life to complete their daily business.
The work of the FoB has been stalled due to a range of reasons. Since the groundbreaking ceremony in 2018, the progress of the bridge was hampered by reasons such as shifting of electrical poles and transformer, boundary wall disputes etc. And now the COVID-19 Pandemic has significantly impacted the pace of the completion of the project.
The very initiation of the blue print of the project took decades to materialize. Amit Goyal, a trader and local resident briefed The Voices about the history of rocky manifestation of a necessity into a plan. He says “It was in 1996 that the idea of having a solution to trespassing was intensely debated for the first time. The lack of consensus over an underpass or a FoB halted the progress then. After series of discussions, finally in 2018 the project took off.”
Mahaveer Singh, Retired Sub-inspector (UP Police) and a resident of Govind Nagar for 6 years, further adds “The little details have been a bone of contention. Now though the project has taken off but the lacklusture pace remains a concern.”
Locals suggest that the school students, working professionals, labourers and patients have to bear the brunt of it. Delay in reaching the destination is now a certainty in destiny. Accidents are always possible, especially during night hours due to the inadequate street lighting arrangements around the area.
Though trespassing across railway tracks is a punishable offence under section of 147 of Indian Railway Act but delayed projects such as these leave people with no alternative. This at times ends up being a disruption even for trains as loco pilots are forced to stop the train in case if tracks are immensely crowded.
The popular aspiration is brim with calls for an expedited pace of the execution of FoB Project, for that would mean the real time elimination of the unmanned railway crossing. An execution which will further enhance the charm of the Jan 2019 statement by the Union Railway Minister wherein Railway announced the completion of the elimination of all unmanned railway crossings on broad guage tracks.
The bridge was expected to be operational in April itself. But the second wave of the pandemic hindered the progress.
On being interviewed by The Voices, Rekha Sharma, IRTS, Sr. DCM, Moradabad (UP) said “The final deadline is September 2021.”
However, NN Singh, ADRM – Moradabad (UP) confirmedThe Voices “The target was 15th July but rainfall too slowed down the pace. Now we are trying to get it operational before 15th August itself.”
As of now girders have already been placed and officials are optimistic about rapid completion of the project as according to them all the contentious concerns have been eliminated. Perhaps, the long for the life saving intervention is about to end soon…
Basic details of the Project
Cost: 6.5 crs
Up down length – 75 mtrs
Length above railway line – 31 mtrs
Width – 3.6 mtrs
(Source: District Railway officials)
Pic Credits: Arita Banerjee Story Edited by NK Jha
4 Comments
Great job Arita! Your writing and spirit possess the true spirit every journalist needs! Keep up the good work! Looking forward to more from you! Very well researched and written! The video bytes have been beautifully captured too!
Thank you very much for appreciation and motivation for future articles.
The very fact that the platform has started dealing in hard news speaks for our diversification. This is a great story. The outreach to collet the bites is really appreciable.
Great efforts mam
Thank you sir, for your appreciation.