Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Row over road overbridge ends

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Gangavaram Port Limited (GPL) has finally caved in to pressure and agreed to construct a road overbridge on BC road with a width of 10.5 metres.

The GPL’s latest stand not to ask the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) to bear the additional expenditure for construction of the RoB with a width of 10.5 metres instead of 7.5 metres suggested by the private port management has put an end to the controversy.

The controversy arose after RINL wrote a letter to the district Collector informing its decision to annul the ‘no objection certificate’ given to the GPL to construct a rail track. The track laying is of urgent importance to the GPL for movement of cargo from its berths to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and other destinations. The private port built at a cost of Rs.1,700 crores is likely to be commissioned in October.

The Visakha Steel Workers’ Union and other trade unions obstructed the railway lane-laying work sometime ago as GPL was non-committal on the road over-bridge with a width of 10.5 metres. VSP employees settled in Gangavaram and nearby areas use the road frequently. It is said even 10.5 metre width is not enough going by the projected volume of traffic in next few years.

RINL, which owns VSP, turned down GPL’s request to share the expenditure on construction of the road over-bridge. The bridge, as per demand of the employees, is estimated to cost some Rs.20 crores. Incidentally, following a request by the GPL, the State government agreed to bear 45 per cent of the cost with the condition that the designing and construction should be completed by the GPL in consultation with the RINL at every stage within six to nine months.

In its recent letter, GPL Project Director G.P. Shukla informed RINL that the private port management was committed to increasing the width from 7.5 metres to 10.5 metres without any cost to RINL. “The additional cost issue will be resolved between the GPL and the Government of Andhra Pradesh,” the letter (reference number GPLS/PU-VSP/071) stated. It said that the GPL was agreeable to abide by the decisions taken at the meeting held in the office of Collector here on August 13.

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