Bihar town off to flying start

Its not often that two political rivals can take credit for one gift but perhaps in Muzaffarpur they can.

Its not often that two political rivals can take credit for one gift but perhaps in Muzaffarpur they can. This January,a flyover,proposed in 2004 when Nitish Kumar was Railway Minister but got rolling two years later when Lalu Prasad was Railway Minister,will finally open.

The Aamgola flyover at the railway crossing is expected to take about 40 per cent of the towns traffic load.

At present,Muzaffarpur,which is Bihars most important town after Patna and Bhagalpur,has just one flyover. Aamgola will be the first of three new flyovers to be opened the other two will take at least a year to be completed.

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Says Hasnain Ariz,a resident,The traffic jams at the Aamgola railway crossing would last for hours. We never thought a flyover could come up here. This is the best new year gift we can get.

The flyover that connects Diwan Road to Motijhil will provide direct access to the town centre that houses banks,business establishments and key government offices. With only a few days to go to the inauguration,the flyover is the talk of the town. There are some who apparently

cant wait any longer two policemen deployed at the site routinely chase away enthusiastic drivers who want to be the first on the flyover.

The Rs 40.65-cr project,constructed by IRCON,is running a year-and-a half behind schedule. Says IRCON deputy general manager Mohan Singh: Though we are running behind schedule,we have tried to ensure high quality. Since the place was so crowded,it posed some problems in construction but we will be happy to hand over the flyover to the people of Muzaffarpur.

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Meanwhile,the Road Construction Department (RCD) of the state government is waiting eagerly to take charge of the flyover. RCD secretary Pratyay Amrit said: The project was delayed but raising such a huge structure in such a narrow passage and in the midst of such traffic is a big achievement.

The people of Muzaffarpur agree.