Welfare organisation from Dooars demands speedy implementation of alternative to Coronation Bridge proj
Darjeeling: The Dooars Forum for Social Reforms (DFSR - a welfare organisation) has demanded the immediate construction of an alternative to the Coronation bridge on the River Teesta. This comes in the wake of answers given by Nitin Gadkari, Union minister of Road Transport and Highways on February 6 to questions raised in Lok Sabha by Darjeeling MP Raju Bista on this issue.
Replying to questions, including the status of the project including financial allocation, timeline, completion date; problem is any regarding land acquisition and status of the work as on date, Gadkari stated: “The Detailed Project Report for construction of additional bridge on NH-17 over Teesta in the state of Bengal is under finalisation for sanction of the project. Tentative project cost of the proposed bridge is Rs 1190.40 crore. Completion period shall be 36 months from the date of commencement of the project. The implementation of the project will commence after its approval by competent authority.”
“We thank MP Raju Bista for raising this important issue in Parliament and for constantly following up the issue. It is clearly evident from the answers that though the issue has made progress it is still awaiting approval from competent authorities and the DPR is under finalisation for sanction (the amount has not been sanctioned yet). We just fail to understand why it is taking so much time to address such an important issue,” stated Chandan Roy, Founder Secretary, DFSR. The strategically important Coronation bridge connecting the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars to Assam was built to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937 and was commissioned in 1941. The bridge is fragile with damaged pillars and cracks appearing after the 2011 earthquake. “Since 2011 we have been demanding an alternative. We have held a number of programmes and protests over the delay. However, except for assurances not much has materialised till now. We hope that this time it will see the light of day,” added Roy.
The DFSR claims that a major catastrophe is waiting to happen owing to the fragile condition of the bridge. “Though there is a load restriction of 10 tons and CCTVs have also been installed, there are reports of heavy vehicles plying on the bridge,” stated Roy. Incidentally, the need for an alternative bridge to the Coronation Bridge was first raised in Parliament by the then Jalpaiguri MP Mahendra Kumar Roy on 15.03.2010. “The DPR regarding this has been sent to the concerned authorities in Delhi,” added Decabrat Thakur, Executive Engineer of NH-9 Division.
