Farakka Bridge to see full-scale repair after four decades
Kolkata: The full-scale repair work of Farakka Bridge will be carried out after 40 long years. Work will start from the first week of October and it would take around six months to complete.
There will be no need for any diversion on the initial 35 days of the work. Later, there will be diversion for goods vehicles. The diversion for "multi axle vehicles" will begin after the first week of November.
Suvendu Adhikari, the state Transport minister, said: "Police will prepare a diversion guide map and will give it to the state Transport department. We will circulate the same among all concerned stakeholders in the sector. The bridge acts as an important link between South and North Bengal. At the same time, vehicles need to take the bridge to reach north eastern states, Nepal and Bhutan. Moreover, there would also be a need to divert the Mumbai and Chennai bound vehicles."
It may be mentioned that the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) had carried out a study and suggested immediate full-scale repairing of the bridge, as its condition is not good. The plan for carrying out the repair work of the bridge was also prepared by CRRI.
A high level meeting was held on Tuesday in this connection. Besides Adhikari, senior officials of Farakka Barrage, Railways, state Public Works Department and senior police officers were also present in the meeting.
The step has been taken considering the security of common people. The 2.245 km long bridge will be repaired at a cost of Rs 10.76 crore.
Saibal Ghosh, General Manager of Farakka Barrage, said: "At present, around 12,700 vehicles ply everyday on the bridge. As per a report, the number was only 3,000 in 2012. The two lane bridge cannot support such a huge load. The load will reduce as National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) has taken initiative to construct a parallel four-lane bridge."
It may be mentioned that there are a total of 109 gates in the Farakka Barrage. However, the functioning of the gates has no relation with the repairing of the bridge above it.
