Warangal: A bridge too far: Wait for second RoB to continue

Warangal: People will have to wait for some more time for the second Road over Bridge (RoB) at Fathima Nagar. It's been almost three years since Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid the foundation stone for the proposed second RoB, however, it remained a dream for the locals.

Initially, the government had failed to release the funds and thereafter administrative hiccups delayed the progress. The existing bridge constructed across the Kazipet-Balharsha railway line in 1978 is vital for the transport vehicles passing through the National Highway-163 that connects Hyderabad-Bhopalapatnam. With the ever increasing number of motor vehicles, traffic snarls on the bridge have become common for the last couple of decades.

With the bridge specifications of 1970s no longer passable after a couple of decades, it has become necessary for the authorities to think on the second RoB parallel to the existing one. The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the second RoB on October 22, 2017. Later, the government accorded Rs 78 crore administrative sanctions for it. The Roads and Buildings (R&B) needed to acquire little over 2 acres of land belonging to a Christian Missionary Institution and Railways. When the authorities called for the tenders, only one construction company came forward. Thereafter, the authorities called for tenders twice.

Finally when they finalised a contractor, the Railways didn't give clearance for the work commencement. It's learnt that the State government is yet to release Rs 3.8 crore to Railways towards land acquisition. Against this backdrop, Government Chief Whip D Vinay Bhaskar on Monday spoke to R&B officials. He also spoke to the Urban District Collector Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu to resolve the hurdles as early as possible. Speaking to The Hans India, Vinay Bhaskar said, "The government had already released Rs 78 crore for the construction of second RoB. The administration has faced a lot of issues such as land acquisition and permission from the Railways. The works on the second RoB would go uninterrupted from here onwards. The RoB is likely to be completed by December 31, 2021."