Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa seems to be in a hurry to inaugurate development projects in his constituency, and in the process even putting the lives of locals in danger.
Dhindsa on Sunday inaugurated the long-awaited railway overbridge in Barnala though the railway authorities are yet to give the security clearance certificate to the recently completed 906-metre ROB.
Dhindsa, who lost the last Lok Sabha election against Congress MP Vijayinder Singla, had last week announced his candidature as the SAD candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from the constituency.
The railway authorities had erected a temporary wall on both sides of the railway's portion of the ROB to restrict traffic due to security reasons after knowing of the plans of the district administration and PWD authorities to organise the inauguration ceremony.
Not taking a serious note of the warning boards displayed on both sides of the ROB, Dhindsa's cavalcade along with official vehicles of the district administration passed over the bridge as part of the inauguration ceremony after the administration dismantled the wall on Sunday morning.
No senior official from the railway department was present on the occasion. Rajeev Saxena, deputy chief engineer (construction) in the railway department, said the authorities were yet to inspect the ROB, which had been completed recently, from technical point of view in order to ensure safety of people.
{{/usCountry}}No senior official from the railway department was present on the occasion. Rajeev Saxena, deputy chief engineer (construction) in the railway department, said the authorities were yet to inspect the ROB, which had been completed recently, from technical point of view in order to ensure safety of people.
{{/usCountry}}“Even the state PWD authorities were aware of the security aspects of the ROB as railway engineers are yet to carry out a technical survey, especially for security purposes,” Saxena said.
He said carrying a technical survey was a formal and most important step before declaring the ROB fit for traffic. “Traffic will be allowed only after the final safety clearance certificate, which will be given only after mandatory surveys,” Saxena said.
The temporary walls will be reconstructed till surveys are conducted to avoid any untoward incident, he said.
When contacted, Dhindsa said the locals were feeling the heat as the ROB was lying completed for the past many months. “The railway authorities should have carried out the technical survey in the past months but they had delayed it for no reason, putting the locals to a lot of inconvenience,” he said.
Dhindsa said even after its formal inauguration, the railway authorities were vested with the power of not allowing traffic to pass over the ROB.