Bhubaneswar: With lakhs of devotees expected to converge on Puri for the annual Rath Yatra, the Odisha Government has stepped up efforts to ensure smooth and hassle-free movement of pilgrims by expediting work on the Matiapada Rail Over Bridge (ROB), one of the city’s key entry and exit corridors.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has laid emphasis on ensuring orderly traffic management and providing a seamless travel experience for devotees during the festival. In line with this, Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan has directed departmental officials to ensure timely execution of all preparatory works.
The Matiapada ROB is expected to play a crucial role in managing the heavy inflow and outflow of vehicles during the Rath Yatra. Keeping this in view, Principal Secretary of the Works Department Sanjay Kumar Singh has been making regular visits to Puri to review the progress of the project and monitor its timely completion before the festival.
During his latest visit, Singh inspected the construction site and held discussions with engineers and officials supervising the project. The department said the launching of the bow-string girders has already been completed successfully.
Reviewing the remaining work, the Principal Secretary directed officials to expedite the casting of the deck slab over the bow-string girders. He also instructed the construction agency to complete the launching of the remaining PSC girder span and finish the associated deck slab casting work at the earliest so that the project progresses as scheduled.
Apart from reviewing the bridge construction, Singh placed special emphasis on making the ROB fully convenient for public use before the Rath Yatra. He directed officials to complete the construction of the service road and make it operational ahead of the festival to facilitate smooth vehicular movement.
The Principal Secretary also instructed the executing agency and senior officials to remove all construction materials, debris and waste from the site and ensure that the surrounding area remains clean, safe and well organised for pilgrims and commuters.
The inspection was attended by the Chief Engineer (National Highways), the Superintending Engineer of the NH Division and other officials associated with the execution of the project
