Need 2 weekend night blocks at Kolkata’s Chingrighata to bridge viaduct gap: RVNL

KOLKATA: Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), which is constructing the New Garia-Airport Orange Line, has made a fresh plea to Kolkata Police to allow traffic blocks at Chingrighata on two weekend nights. This is necessary to plug the 366-metre gap in the 8 km viaduct between Ruby and Sector V.

Senior officers of Kolkata Police, led by the commissioner Manoj Verma, inspected the Chingrighata and Metropolitan sites over a fortnight ago. They indicated that the traffic block for the latter would be handed over soon for construction of a foot-overbridge (FOB) to access the Beleghata station. However, with no progress on the issue so far, RVNL has urged cops to either give the traffic block at Chingrighata first or provide it along with the one at Metropolitan so that the long-overdue work can be completed.Once the Chingrighata gap is bridged, Orange Line's services can be extended from Ruby. At Sector V, the Orange Line has an interchange with the Green Line, to allow those living along the Bypass to travel to Esplanade and Howrah by metro.RVNL has reasoned with the cops that while it will take 40 days to complete the FOB to connect Beleghata Metro station at Metropolitan with the other side of EM Bypass, launching the two spans (28m and 34m) across the Chingrighata crossing can be done in two weekend nights.

"RVNL proposes to complete the main girder-launching activity of each span in three nights - from Friday to Sunday, between 10 pm and 7 am, during two weekends," a Railways official said.On Feb 2, girder-launching between piers 317, 318, and 319 atop Chingrighata was supposed to begin. RVNL has built a 600-metre lane for traffic diversion while the Ultandanga-bound flank is closed.TOI reported on April 1 that RVNL is incurring an idling cost of Rs 9 lakh daily due to the stalled Metro construction at Chingrighata.

"Girder-launching at the busy Chingrighata crossing will become more complex if RVNL misses the ongoing dry spell," the Railways official said.Lalbazar said "certain modifications in traffic furniture and some permissions were pending" regarding the Chingrighata site handover. "KMC must certify that the newly built road is fit for traffic movement," a senior officer said. Officers said the site can be given if Metro agrees to stick to deadlines. Joint CP (traffic) Rupesh Kumar has also urged RVNL to start construction of the underpass at Chingrighata.The Orange Line, which now runs 5.4 km from New Garia to Ruby, will eventually link New Garia-Airport across 29 km.