Corporation pays second instalment for construction of bridge at Padil-Bajal.

The Mangalore City Corporation a few days ago paid Rs. 22 lakh to the Southern Railway as its second instalment for constructing a road underbridge (RuB) at Padil-Bajal railway level crossing near Mangalore Junction Railway Station.

Sources in the corporation told The Hindu that the civic body paid the amount on July 28 as 'direction and general charges' and the Southern Railway had selected an agency to take up the work. It is expected to begin the Rs. 5.16-crore project after this rainy season.

Earlier, the corporation had paid Rs. 29 lakh to the Railways as the first instalment and the State government paid Rs. 2.28 crore as its share. With this, the corporation and the State government have paid Rs. 2.79 crore to the Railways.

The railway and the State government would bear the cost of the project equally, they said.

Mayor Mahabala Marla said he hoped that there would not be any more payment to be made as the total amount paid by the corporation and the government had exceeded the half of the estimated project cost.

An executive engineer at the corporation said the corporation would require some more money to build approaches on both the sides of the RuB. The estimated cost does not include building approaches.

He said the corporation would estimate the fund required for building approaches once the RuB would be in the final stage of construction.

Funds required for it would be reserved while the corporation prepared the budget for 2015-16. If not, the corporation would examine if it was possible to get funds from the third instalment of Rs. 100 crore special grant from the Chief Minister to the civic body, the executive engineer said.

Construction of an RuB or a road overbridge at Padil was a long-pending demand of people of Faisalnagar, Veernagar, Vijaynagar, Bajal and Jelligudde. According to letters written by them to the government authorities, more than 40,000 people were living in the vicinity of the level-crossing where the gate is closed frequently – more that 30 times in a day.


THE HINDU