Construction work of the second bridge over the Ganga at Farakka has come to halt for the third time in the past three years.

This time, work stopped in July first week because of the rise in the water level of the Ganga.

Sources said this delay left residents of Malda and other north Bengal districts disgruntled as they have to bear the brunt of traffic jams along the existing rail-cum-road bridge built around 50 years ago.

In 2018, work on the four-lane bridge, downstream of the existing bridge, was initiated by the Centre with an allocation of Rs 550 crore. The plan was to finish the project by December 2021.

However, the project got delayed owing to a number of reasons. An accident took place on February 16, 2020, when an under-construction girder of the bridge collapsed and killed two project engineers and injured three workers.

“After the accident, work came to a halt and a fact-finding team was sent to the spot. It was almost a month after which work resumed,” said a source.

The second time, work came to a halt because of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the Centre announced a nationwide lockdown. “It resumed in due course but in September 2020, the work suffered for a few days as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) debarred the Chinese construction company that was making the bridge for the accident. However, the project was swiftly assigned to another company, so the September 2020 halt was very minor,” the source added.

Since then, work had been on at the site but this time, it stopped owing to the water level of the rain-fed Ganga.

“We have to wait till the water level goes down. It seems work can commence by November onwards, that is, during the winter months,” said an official of the NHAI.

The NHAI has to set a new date for completion. “Though the bridge was supposed to be ready by December 2021, work couldn’t be completed. Now, we expect it to be ready by December 2023,” the official said.

According to sources, the bridge will connect Kaliachak-II block of Malda (on the left bank of the Ganga) with Farakka block (on the right bank of the river) of Murshidabad district. It is located on NH12, the principal highway that connects Calcutta and the southern districts of Bengal with north Bengal and the Northeast.

According to plan, the four-lane bridge will be 2.580km long and 25m wide, along with 3km approach roads on both ends.

“In all, the bridge will have 88 pillars among which over 50 pillars have already been raised. The installation of the remaining pillars and fixing of concrete girders are held up now as the river’s water level is up. Pending work of the approach roads, however, is on,” said an official.

Malda residents are hoping that the halt is of a short duration.

“Given the surge in road traffic along NH 12, the second bridge is immediately needed. Traffic congestion is bad on the sole bridge that is around 50 years old,” said Ananta Chakraborty, a transporter based in Malda.