A major canal crossing bridge of upper Bhadra dam between Shivani and Ajjampura on the Bengaluru-Hubballi railway line section was completed in 26 days against the stipulated time of 90 days, thanks to the COVID-19 lockdown and suspension of regular train services.
The work was completed on Wednesday and entailed construction of precast RCC twin box and insertion by box pushing method at a cost of ₹14.72 crore.
A release said the project was necessary to supply water to the districts of Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Davangere for irrigation. This canal irrigates 2,25,000 hectares of land besides helping replenish 367 tanks in the downstream covering four districts, the release added.
Though the work was initially launched last year, it was stopped due to the soil condition and the terrain which threatened the safety of the embankments.
The local MP Narayana Swamy had appealed to the Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, to complete the work in the shortest possible time before the onset of monsoon so as to facilitate agriculture and farmers of this region.
The work was first proposed to be taken up by suspending train services on this line. Following an inspection carried out in the second week of May, it was decided to lay a temporary track and divert the train so as to keep the movement of freight traffic unaffected.
The work, which was supervised by the Divisional Railway Manager of Mysuru division Aparna Garg, saw the laying of a single line temporary track for train diversion which was completed in 16 days while the civil works including box pushing for 24 metres distance was completed in 7 days.
A.K.Singh, General Manager, South Western Railway, said even under challenging circumstances and lockdown period, the railway staff have taken up and completed the work on a war footing to facilitate the flow of water from the upper Bhadra dam.
