The Alipurduar district administration and the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) are jointly conducting a survey to identify the land that is required for the construction of a road overbridge at the railway level-crossing in Birpara.

“The joint survey began on August 12. Officials of the land and land reforms department and the railways are surveying the area to mark stretches of land that would be needed for the project. Once the survey is done, we will initiate the process of compensating the land losers so that necessary land can be acquired and handed over to the railways,” said R. Vimala, the district magistrate of Alipurduar.

In the district, the demand for the road overbridge at the level crossing has been raised by the residents of Birpara for years now. The Dooars rail track, which connects Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar Junction crosses through the middle of Birpara town. The road that moves along the crossing, connects Asian Highway-48 with Gomtu of Bhutan.

The Dalgaon station is nearby, and rakes are often lined up at the station for loading and unloading.

“The railway crossing closes down frequently due to train movement and people get stuck. There are instances when patients have died as ambulances got stuck at the crossing. We have raised the issue time and again and hope the railways will initiate the construction work soon after the land acquisition is done,” said Prakash Chik Baraik, a Rajya Sabha MP of TMC from Alipurduar.

He said along with Birpara, he sought two other similar road overbridges in the district, one in Kamakhyaguri and the other in Alipurduar town.

Manoj Tigga, the BJP MP of Alipurduar, said all those who will have to part with land, shops, buildings, and other structures, will be compensated. “In other projects, the state has to bear a portion of the expenditure. However, in this case, the Centre will bear the entire expenditure, right from the construction cost to the compensation,” said Tigga.