Home ›› 04 Nov 2021 ›› Nation
The Ministry of Railways is set to build nine underpasses under the Khulna-Mongla Port Railway Project in different areas of the Khulna region.
Confirming the matter to The Business Post, Executive Engineer of this project Ariful Islam said a revised proposal for the initiative was been sent to the ministry, and it got approved recently. “The construction of the underpasses will begin in the first half of 2022,” he added.
Ministry sources said four underpasses will be built in the Khulna district, Latapahar road adjacent to Beel Dakatia, Arongghata near the old Khulna-Satkhira Highway, and in front of the Sheikh Hasina Medical University under Labanchara police station.
Another five underpasses will be built in the Bagerhat district; Balia Bhattakhamar beside Katakhali Station, Pilganj near Chulkathi Bazar, Mohish Khamar, Kabiraj Bari near Bagha, and Digraz Bazar.
However, despite locals residents’ repeated requests, no overpasses or underpasses are set to be constructed on the Khulna-Satkhira Highway and Khulna’s Darogavita area because the ground level underneath the rail lines is not suitable for this particular purpose.
Providing more details, Executive Engineer Ariful Islam said, “The ministry has set an estimated budget Tk 40 crore for this project. The construction of underpasses has become necessary as countless heavy vehicles move through these highways and roads, which are 10 to 12 feet lower than most of the rail lines in this district.
“Following pleas from local residents, ministry officials carried out soil test and prepared designs so that the project’s construction can begin as soon as possible. These officials have inspected the areas and approved some of them.”
However, some of the locations have been removed from the project due to some issues, he added.
According to insider sources, the project – which will establish a 64.75 kilometres rail link between Khulna’s Fultola and Mongla Port – has witnessed 75 per cent progress in January this year.
This project has two parts, and the first part consists of the construction of rail tracks, a dam, and some civil construction. The second part consists of several major and minor bridges – about 106 culverts and 31 medium length bridges, including a big bridge over the Rupsha River.
However, few of the old roads in the region to which the rail lines have been built are just four to five feet lower than the rail lines, while it is ten to 14 feet for other roads there.
This issue is making it difficult for pedestrians to cross the rail lines and that is why the ministry decided to build the underpasses, said sources from the district administration of Khulna.
The Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line Project was approved in December 2010, and the construction of the 64.75km rail line was supposed to be completed within 2013.
However, the project’s physical construction began around six years after the approval due to complications over various issues, including land acquisition and changes in the design. The cost of the project – being implemented with India’s first line of credit – rose to Tk 3,801 crore, which is 120 per cent higher than the original estimate of Tk 1,721 crores.
The project authorities managed to get the revised proposal approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on October 5 this year, receiving a budget of Tk 4,260 crore and a one-year extension. The new deadline is December 2022.
