4 years on,Mumbra flyover finally nears completion

“Some local politicians and residents had an opinion that the flyover turned out to be a hurdle for those living in the vicinity of the railway station,” said Shankar Raut,a resident of Mumbra.

If illegal buildings along the road had to be demolished,the TMC would have said goodbye to the project beacuse majority of the structures in Mumbra are illegal. “The design of the bridge was made in such a way that none of the structures along the road would come on the way of the bridge,” said Papalkar.

According to earlier plan,around Rs 6.32 crore was allocated for the project that commenced in 2004. Later due to cost escalation and change in designs,the cost was increased to Rs 8.60 crore. It was the overhead high tension power cables which caused the delay —-for more than a year and half— of the project. The work was started only after the over head power cables were removed and replaced with underground cables. To give more room for traffic beneath the bridge,the space between the columns of the bridge is increased — as much as 40 metres to 63 metres— at certain stretches.

Union leaders of autorickshaw drivers in the city seldom see any reason in streamlining the traffic outside the station. There are more than 5000 autorickshaws in the city. According to them,the short distance —a few kilometres—from Mumbra stations to Kausa and back could be covered in 20-30 minutes. But when the autorickshaws queue up to pick the passengers outside the station,the Mumbra railway station area will be congested.

“The flyover would benefit all those people who live away from the railway station. They need not get stuck in traffic outside the Mumbra station. Flyover would also facilitate easy movement for emergency services like fire,ambulance and police vehicles,” said Hanif Pitalwala,resident Kausa and principal of Holy Crescent High School.