Eastern Railways on Friday said there has been no delay on the part of Railways for opening Majerhat road over bridge (ROB).
“It may be appreciated that nothing was left pending with Eastern Railways and there was no delay on the part of the Railways. Eastern Railways is always keen to complete its job in coordination with all the agencies associated with construction of Majerhat ROB including PWD, Govt of WB and has taken all steps for early completion of the work,” a press statement from Eastern Railway said.
The statement comes a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed Railways for delay in granting necessary permission for opening of Majerhat ROB. On Thursday BJP supporters led by party national general secretary Kaliash Vijayvargiya protested near the newly constructed Majerhat ROB demanding that the bridge be opened for public. “For nine months when rail didn’t give permission, you BJP party, were you sleeping? For nine months we’ve had repeated meetings with them, requesting for clearance.” Ms Banerjee has said after the protests turned violent and some BJP supporters were taken into custody.
Majerhat ROB collapsed in September 2018 killing two people apparently due to maintenance failure. The collapse of the bridge resulted in connectivity issues to large parts of the south western part of the metropolis to rest of the city. For nearly two years people have been forced to use alternative routes as the Majerhat ROB on the main arterial road has remained under construction.
“The final drawings of the bearings were submitted by State Govt. to Railways on 26.08.2020 and were approved by this Railway on the same day…. Joint Safety Certificate received from State Govt on 27.11.2020 and submitted to CRS (Commissioner of Railway Safety) EC on date after signature of Railway Authority,” the press statement from Eastern Railways said.
ER said the State government has also been informed in writing that all statutory formalities regarding the ROB have been completed and they are now at liberty to take further action for arranging its opening for public.
