Pune: PMC has sought Railways' approval for the demolition of a portion of the Sadhu Vaswani rail overbridge, a portion of which is above train tracks. The civic body had started demolition of the rail overbridge in the Koregaon Park area two months ago. An official said Pune Municipal Corporation cannot pull down the bridge structure that is above the tracks without the Railways' permission.
The official said Railways was expected to issue a go-ahead to the work in the next few days. A rail block is likely to be announced for the removal of the bridge portion. PMC is constructing a new bridge on the same location, as the old Sadhu Vaswani bridge has become old.
The project of demolishing the old bridge and constructing a new one started in July and is expected to be completed in two years. The civic body has clarified that though it is waiting for the railway's nod, the project has not halted and other works are going on. Another PMC official said the Railways' nod for demolition "is a part of the ongoing works".
In the last two months, the agency appointed at work has demolished a portion of the bridge at its Koregaon Park end and started foundation work of a new bridge. The official said, "After getting the go-ahead from Railways, we will start the demolition of the upper portion of the bridge is located above the train tracks. This work can continue for a month.
It is expected that Railways will allow the block for about a couple of hours on a daily basis, as it cannot halt train operations for an entire day." PMC and traffic police have introduced vehicular diversions in the area to assist the work. Regular commuters said changes in traffic flow have increased travel time, especially at key locations where traffic snarls are an everyday issue.
The commuters said the work should get over within the deadline. Vehicles coming from the War Memorial Chowk are not allowed to proceed towards state govt's VVIP guest house. These vehicles are moving towards Council Hall and then Wadia College Chowk.
On the other hand, vehicles from Koregaon Park Road are diverted via Mangaldas Road towards Wadia College Chowk and then Inspection Bungalow Chowk. Vijay Khandelwal, who uses the road for daily commute, said, "The detour is proving tiresome. Wadia College Chowk, Bundgarden Road, Council Hall Chowk are witnessing long queues of vehicles.
Police need to ensure that the traffic is moving.".
