FOB still a year away, Bailey bridge work begins near Rajputana Rifles HQ

On May 26, HT reported how thousands of soldiers from the Rajputana Rifles — the Indian Army’s oldest rifle regiment based in Delhi Cantonment — are forced to wade past a foul-smelling culvert that overflows during rains on their way to the parade ground, due to the absence of a safe crossing

Work has finally begun on a Bailey bridge near the Rajputana Rifles headquarters in Delhi Cantonment, promising relief within a month to over 3,000 soldiers who need to cross from their barracks to their training ground daily and are currently forced to use a smelly drain culvert that fills up during rains.

The Delhi high court had suggested setting up a Bailey bridge as a temporary solution to give relief within a month to over 3,000 soldiers who need to cross from their barracks to their training ground daily and are currently forced to use a smelly drain culvert that fills up during rains. (HT Archive)

The project is being undertaken by the Delhi Cantonment Board.

Meanwhile, the public works department (PWD) has floated tenders for a foot overbridge (FOB) at the same location, which will take about a year to complete. The FOB, estimated to cost around ₹2 crore, will not have a lift, ramp or escalator. Once the initial processes are complete, physical construction is expected to take about six months.

“Shifting of utilities, such as water and gas pipelines, has started. The Bailey bridge will be constructed soon by the forces and we have released funds for it. I hope that the soldiers can get some relief as soon as possible. Meanwhile, PWD has already started working on the FOB for a permanent solution,” said PWD minister Parvesh Verma.

On May 26, HT reported how thousands of soldiers from the Rajputana Rifles — the Indian Army’s oldest rifle regiment based in Delhi Cantonment — are forced to wade past a foul-smelling culvert that overflows during rains on their way to the parade ground, due to the absence of a safe crossing. They make this trek four times a day—twice before breakfast and twice after dusk—even as the Delhi government has failed to build a foot overbridge despite repeated requests over the past decade.

The problem worsens during the monsoon, when the culvert floods and regiment personnel are left with two choices: wade through waist-deep drain water or walk nearly two-and-a-half kilometres to cross from one side of the carriageway to the other. After an HT report brought the issue to light, the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognisance and directed agencies to expedite construction.

When the PWD told the court that building a foot overbridge (FOB) would take at least a year, the bench suggested setting up a Bailey bridge as a temporary solution. A Bailey bridge, a sturdy modular structure that can be assembled or dismantled quickly, has been used in the past—most notably by the Indian Army’s Madras Sappers during the 2010 Commonwealth Games after an under-construction FOB near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed.

The need for an FOB at the site has been flagged repeatedly over the years. The government approved one nearly a decade ago, but construction never began. As recently as last November, experts from the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), who sit on the government’s subway committee, again stressed its urgency, saying the absence of the bridge was akin to “treating soldiers like animals.” Yet, another monsoon has come, and soldiers continue to slog through filthy water for lack of a basic crossing.