Jamshedpur, Feb 9: In an initiative to provide safety to commuters, street lights will be installed on the newly constructed Jugsalai railway overbridge soon. The estimated cost of the project would be Rs 48 lakh 64 thousand 600. A tender has been floated by Jugsalai Municipal Council in this regard. Tender will be opened on March 6. Chief Minister Hemant Soren had on 31 January inaugurated the bridge. Due to lack of lighting in the bridge, commuters have been facing difficulty in movement at night.
After getting a nod from the railways, the civic body has decided to equip the bridge with lights. A bulk of the stretch leading from the railway crossing stays dark after sundown. The area will look bright and festive with new lights. Plan is to install lights in the next four months.
“No doubt a dark bridge gives the impression of an underdeveloped and unsafe city, and Jamshedpur is one of the most planned cities in India. The new lights will create a positive impression among visitors as well as regular commuters and women will feel safer with all the lights,” said an official of Jugsalai Municipal Council.
Irked over the continued neglect of their demand for proper illumination on the road overbridge, a section of road users had threatened to launch a protest. Commuters, especially two-wheeler riders, have long been complaining that they face grave danger due to lack of adequate lighting on the road overbridge.
Residents of Jugsalai had complained that poor lighting on the bridge discouraged them to use the facility at nights and the bridge might become a den for anti-socials in future. Several political parties have been demanding installation of lights on the bridge.
A resident said that the overbridge is about 1.2 kilometer long and is also curved, there is no provision of street lights in such a big over bridge, without street lights it is dangerous to walk on the bridge at night. He said that due to the high height of the bridge, mesh should also be installed on both sides of the bridge from the point of view of security. The railway gate has been closed as soon as the over bridge starts, due to which the pedestrians have to travel an extra distance of about 1.25 kilometres, for their convenience demanded a foot overbridge or an alternative route.
The construction of road over bridge (ROB) and access road between Tata-Adityapur station of Jugsalai started in the financial year 2018-19 and completed in 2022-23. Its total length is 843 meters. The total administrative approval for this project is Rs 44,04,95,000.
