Stalemate over foot overbridge continues

Monday’s talks inconclusive; high-level meet tomorrow

The foot overbridge at Nagampadom in Kottayam which was closed by railway authorities.

The stalemate over the construction of a new foot overbridge at the northern gate of the Kottayam railway station continued as discussions called by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Ajantha Kumari on Monday remained inconclusive. A high-level meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday.

The construction has become a bone of contention between the municipal authorities and Railways ever since the former wanted the entire expense to be borne by the municipality. Even as the issue remained unresolved, the railway authorities closed the overbridge.

However, the imbroglio worsened after a person, who trespassed into the bridge at night, was killed after falling down through a hole caused by the removal of a steel plate on the overbridge last week. People from all walks of life pointed to apathy on the part of the authorities as the cause of death.

The foot overbridge, opened in December 2001, was used by passengers to enter the railway station from its northern opening. It was also used by those going to the private bus stand at Nagambadom. However, the large influx of passengers without any proper facilities had created trouble for Railway authorities. Moreover, the foot overbridge needed heavy maintenance after 15 years of constant use.

Estimate

It was against this background that decision was taken to construct a new bridge. The total cost of the bridge has been estimated at Rs.28.50 lakh. Of this, Rs.15 lakh is the cost of construction and the rest the maintenance cost.

While Railways wanted the municipality to bear the entire cost, Municipal authorities maintained that they would bear the construction cost and wanted Railways to take responsibility for the balance.

Even after two rounds of talks, no progress has been made in the stalemate. It was then that the accident occurred.

Steel plate to be put back

Monday’s meeting decided to put back the steel plate on the bridge. The municipal authorities meanwhile asked the district authorities to ensure lighting on the premises and also put police on duty.