Work to resume in a week.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is gearing up to resume work on the construction of Pachalam overbridge in a week's time, following forcible acquisition of 46 cents of land soon.

'The Kochi Corporation is expected to clear debris and other material of demolished structures since the road belongs to them. We can begin full-fledged work on the bridge once this is over, provided there are no further protests at the work site,' DMRC sources said.

They added that the bridge would be ready in another six months, by September 2015, if everything went well. 'The bridge could have been completed by the end of 2014 but for a spree of protests. We also lost a major part of the November-April working season following protests and litigation,' they said.

The DMRC which began work on the bridge in March 2014 was confident of completing the bridge within a record six-month period if land was handed over. The hydraulic rig engaged in piling on the southern side of the level cross was shifted out after protests intensified.

Though the work on pillars is almost over on the northern side, construction works will have to be done afresh on the land taken over soon.

The metro agency was forced to call off work in the second half of 2014 after a section of land owners opposed land acquisition, while some other protestors demanded a change in bridge alignment. A few others demanded a four-lane bridge in place of the two-lane bridge that had been planned. After this, work continued using skeletal workforce with police protection.

Sources said the Rs. 52-crore project cost (including funds for land acquisition) might increase due to delay in works and the rise in expenses for labour and raw materials.

THE HINDU