Periyar Nagar RoB: Govt to move court to lift stay on work

Trichy: The state highways department is planning to move the court to lift the stay on works on the approach roads for the Periyar Nagar rail overbridge (RoB) and hopes have it vacated in a week. Demanding compensation to be paid before acquiring the land, land owners in Thiruvanaikoil had obtained a stay order from Madurai bench of the Madras high court in September 2018.
“We have a hearing coming up next week in which we are very sure about vacating the stay order to complete the pending portion of the RoB in a short span. The RoB will be opened for public use within the first quarter of 2019,” an official source said.

It has been almost eight years since the proposal to replace the ageing two-lane bridge crossing past Periyar Nagar in Thiruvanaikoil was submitted and three years since the works were taken up.

Highways department sources claimed that civil works for Periyar Nagar RoB concluded in June 2018. However, approach roads on either ends - Mambalasalai end and Chennai bypass end - have not been completed as land owners are demanding compensation to be paid first and approached the high court obtaining a stay order .

The legal barrier has further delayed the completion of the RoB. “As the RoB works drags on, bus connectivity between Srirangam and Thiruvanaikoil has taken a severe blow. Considering the plights we face in accessing the Srirangam island, the district administration should amicably complete the project,” asid R Kannan, a resident of South Chithirai street in Srirangam. As lakhs of pilgrims are expected to throng Sri Ranganathaswamy temple as part of Vaikunta Ekadasi celebrations next week, the misery of locals is expected to soar further.

Besides the delay, residents of Thiruvanaikoil have been lamenting about the poor shape of temporary service road laid along the Periyar Nagar RoB connecting Mambalasalai with Srinivasan Nagar.

Source