Rly crosses the Chenab ‘bridge’,to resume work

The Expert Committee,headed by former Railway Board Chairman M Ravindra,has submitted its report to the ministry. While the recommendations of the report are still under wraps,sources said the Committee has agreed for resumption of suspended works on some sections while suggesting major modifications and realignment on some others. The committee is learnt to have said that the Railways can resume work following technical tests that can establish its safety and stability.

Located near the Salal Hydro Power Dam,the bridge was originally planned as a 1,315 metre-long bridge having 17 spans. Despite having spent around Rs 150 crore on the construction work,the Railways has been unable to show much progress in face of tough geological challenges. As per sources,only 25 per cent work on the approach viaduct has been made over the past five years and the progress on the arch-bridge is nil. Afcons Infrastructure Limited was awarded the contract for the bridge.

While deciding to stop all construction works on the Katra-Qazigund section in 2008,the Railway Ministry had proposed a change in the location of the bridge,two kilometres upstream of the original location. Since the newly proposed location had a higher bed level,the height of the bridge,had it been constructed there,would have come down to about 120-150 meters from river bed,thus shattering the “mega dream” of constructing the world’s highest bridge.

Insiders in the ministry admit that having gone public with its plan to construct the bridge as the highest in the world,the matter had become a “prestige issue” for the ministry. “Shifting the location of this bridge,thus compromising on its height,would have caused a huge embarrassment to the ministry — more so after spending Rs 150 crore on it,” said a ministry official.