MLA protests against Railways for delay in overbridge construction

Payal MLA Manwinder Singh Giaspura, along with his party workers, today staged a dharna near the railway crossing of Doraha over the inordinate delay in the construction of a railway overbridge (ROB) on the Doraha-Neelon stretch by the Railways, despite the fact that the state government had issued the NOC long time back.

Giaspura and his party men raised slogans against the lack of concern of the Railways in this regard. He said that it had been 13 years that the commuters had been facing discomfort due to the absence of the ROB. He slammed the SAD as well as Congress, which had done little to ease the problems of the commuters for the past so many years. He also said that the Punjab government had issued an NOC to the Railways long time back, but the construction could not be started for reasons best known to the Railways. He also criticised the non-functional and unsupportive role of the Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu, despite the fact that he belonged to the area.

“A number of times the railway crossing develops technical snags, which leads to long queues of commuters on both sides of the crossing. Big potholes act as a catalyst in aggravating the situation. The jerks suffered by the commuters, especially the sick and the aged, are simply unbearable. But the Railways, despite being given green signal to initiate work, have failed to do so,” expressed the MLA.

“The delay in the construction of an ROB and the pitiable condition of the slip road has made the lives of the commuters a virtual hell. The road having fissures, gaps and potholes has worsened to the extent that it is no longer visible now. The stretch is used by thousands of vehicles, but still the condition of the road has only worsened,” expressed the women folk of the surrounding villages who also joined the MLA in his protest.

Harpreet Singh of Ghulal village said, “The situation becomes horrible when it pours. Due to the muddy road vehicles get stuck, leading to traffic jams.” Gurpreet Singh of Rampur village said, “The issue of ROB has remained unresolved and none has spared a thought for the commuters.”

Senior Estate Divisional Engineer Rajpura Amarjeet reached the spot and assured the protesters that as per information received from the RSP unit, Delhi, the work of floating the tenders shall begin in a month from now. The work of construction will most probably begin by March-April 2026 after approval. Asked about the delay in floating of tenders, he said that some of the parameters of the NOC, provided earlier by the state government, were non-acceptable to the Railways. “But as per the fresh one provided by the state, tenders shall be floated and construction work shall be undertaken accordingly.”

Ludhiana