Design of Railway Over Bridge (Rob) in Aishbagh area of BhopalWhich is now under investigation for a peculiar 90-degree turn, replaced three times in the last seven years as the Public Works Department and Railways found themselves on obstacles, the Indian Express has learned.
Senior PWD members told The Indian Express that the investigation report was ready, a senior official confirmed, “The design was replaced three times. It is part of our initial conclusions, among other issues that were flagged.”
On Saturday, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that “Based on the investigation report, action has been taken against eight PWD engineers.”
“Seven engineers, including two main engineers, have been suspended with immediate effect. A departmental inquiry will be conducted against a retired sub-engineer. Both the construction agency and design advisor have been blacklisted to present the defective design of Rob,” Yadav said.
Official records indicate that the first design was confirmed on July 7, 2018, when the engineers of Railways and Madhya Pradesh PWD jointly inspected the site. The team concluded that the proposed Rob would require 45 degrees oblique to match the road alignment.
The report filed by the then Executive Engineer (Bridge) said, “Railway Spanish will scave for the alignment of 45 degrees.
However, the PWD internal record mentioned: “Since the entire construction was to be on railway land, the railway department expressed its disagreement. As a result, the PWD stopped the tender process at that time.”
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By September 2020, a second design was executed, when PWD and Railways conducted a joint inspection and prepared a new alignment, this time keeping in mind the upcoming metro rail line that passed through the area.
“In this new alignment proposal, keeping in mind the metro rail alignment, and with mutual consent between the PWD and the Railway Department, a new general arrangement drawing (GAD) was designed based on the construction of RCC circular pierce,” PWD Note said. The Metro Rail Corporation also issued another no-objection certificate.
However, in 2023, PWD said: “Before the implementation of the project, the discrepancies in the GAD of the Railway Department were informed by them through various letters.” The PWD also claimed in its internal record, “The Railway Department did not make any changes in its drawing and carried out the construction with the wrong location and conditions. As a result, due to railway error, PWD’s alignment began to encroach towards the alignment of the metro.”
Subsequently, a third design change was implemented, when PWD “designed a revised GAD, in which an additional ghat was constructed behind the railway ghat, and PWD Slab was supported at this additional ghat and was connected to the railway slab.”
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According to the revised GAD, the alignment of the metro rail will be “as before, and all three executed agencies, ie PWD, Metro Rail Project and Railways, will be able to carry out their construction work within their pre -approved financial boundaries and the first agreed alignments.”
On the other hand, the Railway Department has alleged that before the PWD flagged off the issues, the Railways had sent a letter on April 4, 2024, apprised to the parts of the department of the bridge constructed by PWD and Railways, “almost meeting at the right angle, which is neither fulfilling the functional requirement nor the road users.”
The 648-meter bridge in the Aishbagh region, which cost Rs 18 crore to construct, was meant to eliminate the long delay at the railway crossing and shorten the commute for about three lakh people daily.
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