RailEnquiry

JAIPUR: Amidst protests from his own party workers, Congress leader and urban development and housing (UDH) minister Shanti Dhariwal laid foundation for two railway underpasses (RuBs) in the city on Friday.Chaos started when the minister reached Kalayan Nagar railway crossing after laying foundation at Arjun Nagar railway crossing. Supporters of Rajeev Arora, state vice-president of Congress, raised slogans against the minister and tried to block his way. The supporters claimed that the RuB is being sanctioned with efforts of Rajeev Arora and he is not invited for the foundation laying ceremony. With construction of the RuB, the long wait and traffic snarls at Arjun Nagar and Kalyan Nagar railway crossings will come to an end. According to Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) officials, after a long wait the designs of the railway underpasses have been approved by the Railway Board and construction will be on a cost-sharing basis between Railways and the state government.

"Though the cost will be shared, the construction will be done by the Railways," an official said adding that the estimated cost for construction of the Kalyan Nagar railway underpass will be Rs 12.31 crore, while Rs 10.35 crore will be spent to construct the Arjun Nagar railway underpass. The JDA will bear a total of Rs 12.18 crore as its share.

Explaining the designs, the official said, "The Arjun Nagar underpass will be constructed in Y-shape while the design of the Kalayan Nagar underpass is similar to the JP Pathak underpass. The JDA will also have to acquire 15-20 metre of land near the Kaylayan Nagar underpass area."

After completion of the underpasses, thousands of residents facing traffic jams everyday will have a huge relief. "There are nearly 50 colonies developed between the Gopalpura bypass and the Kartarpura where many residents travel a number of times through the route everyday. Given this fact, construction of underpasses were a necessity," said Vivek Gupta , a local resident.