More than 2 lakh residents of Jamadoba, Bhaga, Phusbunglow, Dungri, Bhowra, Sudamdih and Kalimela have demanded the immediate reopening of the Phusbunglow Jamadoba road, lying closed for three months due to the construction of railway over bridge.

The traffic from Phusbunglow Jamadoba road is being diverted through Shashikant Pandey Chowk of Bhaga.

The construction is part of a Rs 21.24crore project, which was to be completed in two years, however is suspended since April 10 due to delay in shifting of water supply pipeline of civic body JMADA, underneath the railway crossing.

Kishore Kumar, a resident of Phusbunglow in Dhanbad said, “Large number of employees of BCCL and Tata Steel, besides daily wage earners, patients visiting to Tata Central Hospital of Jamadoba, students of schools and colleges are greatly affected due to suspension of work of the overbridge construction and resultant suspension of traffic on road.”

“Though, ray of hope again generated for the resumption of over bridge construction work following a joint inspection by senior officers of JMADA and South Eastern Railway Authorities around April 12 during which JMADA, authorities assured to shift the 100 meter pipeline within two months but neither the shifting work could begin till date nor over bridge construction work resumed,” said Kumar who is also general secretary district unit of Congress.

Bhola Singh, a BCCL employee and a resident of Bhusbunglow said,“Earlier, we used to reach our work site at Bhowra in less than half an hour through the Phusbunglow Jamadoba road but the now due to suspension of traffic on road it takes an hour.”

Contacted, Indresh Shukla, Executive Engineer and Technical member of JMADA, said, “Earlier we were facing some difficulty in producing some pipeline parts required for shifting work but now the parts have arrived we will begin the shifting work of pipeline within a week after the completion of which the over bridge construction work may resume.”