E-Paper
Prayagraj: Additional budget for Begum Bazaar railway overbridge approved
On Thursday, the expenditure finance committee of the state government sanctioned an additional budget of ₹97 crore for the completion of the project.
The hurdle in the construction of Begum Bazaar railway overbridge (ROB), which remained incomplete even after six years, has finally been removed. On Thursday, the expenditure finance committee of the state government sanctioned an additional budget of ₹97 crore for the completion of the project.
“Out of the approved budget, ₹67 crore will be handed over to the Indian Air Force for shifting the runway, while the district administration will provide approximately ₹30 crore as compensation to home and landowners. Efforts are underway to ensure traffic movement on this railway overbridge before the Mahakumbh-2025,” officials said.
Once completed, the ROB will improve the connectivity of Prayagraj region with Kaushambi along with putting the traffic snarls in the area to a permanent halt.
The construction of this ROB from Bhagwatpur to Begum Bazaar began in 2017 with the aim of completing it before the start of Kumbh-2019 in Prayagraj. The construction work, costing ₹48 crore, was over 90% completed when the IAF objected. They pointed out that no no-objection certificate (NOC) had been obtained for the construction of the ROB as it would affect the take-offs and landings of their aircraft. Despite efforts by officials of the UP Bridge Corporation and the district administration, the standoff continued.
It is worth mentioning that the delay in the construction of the Begum Bazaar ROB was raised in Parliament by Phulpur MP Kehsari Devi Patel in 2020.
Recently, a proposal for a revised budget was submitted to the state government after receiving conditional permission from the Defence Ministry. This proposal was presented at the expenditure finance committee meeting held in the state capital on January 18. The chief project manager of setu nigam, Manoj Aggarwal, said that the committee has approved the budget. The work on the railway part, which had stopped, is expected to resume soon and the IAF will shift their airstrip as well.
