With increasing vehicular population, the need to develop alternative routes is also rising considerably to ease traffic congestion on the existing routes in the city. Among different routes, the demand to replace the existing Foot Over Bridge (FOB) at West Booking counter of the railway station with a four-lane flyover is gaining momentum.
The decades-old FOB facilitates pedestrians from Wynchipeta, Kothapeta and other areas around Panjaa Centre to reach DRM Office and Alankar Centre. Despite the FOB being narrow, many pedestrians and cyclists make best use of the bridge to reach different areas on either side.
The fact that railway authorities installed a few barricades on the bridge to prevent two-wheelers, gives an indication of the necessity and convenience people have in utilising the bridge.
“It saves a lot of time and reduces distance to reach Alankar Centre from Panjaa Centre. Imagine taking a detour from Kaleswararao Market and Tarapeta to reach Wynchipeta or Panjaa centre, it can be cumbersome,” says Madhava Rao, a resident of Wynchipeta.
It is not just those areas but people from from One Town area also utilise this FOB to reach Two Town. With vehicular traffic increasing considerably, there is a need to replace it with a four-lane flyover permitting only pedestrians and two-wheelers for the convenience of people, says Vijayawada West MLA Jaleel Khan.
The matter has already been taken up with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and a representation was also made to General Manager and Divisional Railway Manager (Vijayawada) of South Central Railway, he claims.
Meanwhile, pedestrians using the FOB demand railway authorities to intensify patrolling and ensure cleanliness on the bridge as miscreants nuisance was on the rise.
“Recently, when I was walking towards DRM office end, a few miscreants wanted to snatch my chain, luckily I escaped. It is risky and patrolling needs to be intensified during evenings,” says Vasanthi, a teacher in a private school.
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