New Delhi: Timely availability of funding is delaying the completion of under-construction railway over bridges in Odisha, highlighted BJD’s Kendrapara MP, Baijayant Panda in Lok Sabha today.
Citing that due to lack of over bridges, commuters at level crossings have to wait for as long as 30 minutes in some cases, Panda noted such long waiting time is leading many to break the security cordon which causes accidents. In a day, gates of some level crossings stay closed for 3-4 hours on an average, he stated.
The parliamentarian elucidated cases where people duck under the gates of manned crossings to cross the railway line.
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“I want to raise a specific aspect of safety. There is problem with manned level crossings also where the road traffic has become so much that they are blocked for many hours. In my constituency, Tangi, every day for 3-4 hours the crossing is closed. People get so frustrated that they wriggle under the crossing and are exposed to safety threats. The Railways in collaboration with State governments has been jointly funding the railway over bridges. I recently conducted a review with the works department of my State, 20 railway over bridges are under construction and they tell me that they are halted because although the State has given its funding the Railway’s funding is not proportionately made. Will the Railway minister commit that wherever railway over bridges are needed, they will be expedited and where funding is pending from the Railways, he will expedite it,” said Panda.