Rourkela: The long wait of the Steel City citizens for a second bridge on river Brahmani at Panposh, on the outskirts of the city, would end soon.
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari would lay the foundation stone of the bridge July 21, BJP’s district president Jagabandhu Behera said. Apart from local MLA Dilip Ray, tribal welfare minister Jual Oram and petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan would attend the programme.
The Centre would spend Rs1, 410 crore for the four-lane road which would be upto Barkote of Biramitrapur. The second Brahmani Bridge, having six lanes, would be part of this four-lane stretch.
The demand for the second bridge gained momentum after the first bridge, considered as the lifeline for western Orissa, gradually turned perilous for commuting.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement April 1, 2014 to set up the second bridge on Brahmani. Political turf war heated up due to the inordinate delay in implementation of the project.
The local MLA met the Prime Minister on several occasions and sought the start of the construction works. Despite being an MLA from ruling BJP, Ray lashed out at the Centre after his requests to the PM, petroleum minister Pradhan and transport minister Gadkari on this didn’t yield result. He even stayed away from Rourkela Vikash Utsav, a programme organised by the party.
While youth BJD members made a human chain protesting the delay, congress activists threatened to stage an economic blockade.
Realising the looming threat to the first bridge, Chief Minsister Naveen intervened in the matter and wrote a letter to Union minister Gadkari requesting him to start the construction immediately. Responding to the letter, the latter assured the CM that the foundation stone would be laid by June end.
Though the deadline was delayed a bit, the news of beginning of construction lit up the spirits of the citizens. PNN
