Mangaluru : The Padil-Bajal Railway Under Bridge (RuB), which is much in need, is unlikely to get commissioned before this December. As the monsoon has already arrived, the Railways is not prepared to take up any further work so as to not disturb the tracks above.

Despite several meetings and reminders, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has failed to provide the drawings of the approach roads, which are crucial for the opening of the RuB for vehicular traffic, said Anand Prakash, Divisional Railway Manager, Palakkad Division, Southern Railway. “We had been urging the MCC to furnish the drawings since about three months; but nothing has happened till now,” Mr. Prakash said.

The DRM was in Mangaluru to participate in the Passenger Facilitation Fortnight organised by the Ministry of Railways from May 26 to June 9. He donated blood at the voluntary blood donation camp organised at Mangaluru Central Railway Station.

Mr. Prakash said he visited the RuB even on Monday. While the approach road is almost clear from Padil-side, it is still incomplete on Bajal-side. “We had asked the MCC to get a power line and a transformer shifted. There is also a water line which has to be shifted. Nothing has been done so far,” he said. Since the monsoon has already set in, Railways would not undertake any work beneath the tracks. Fresh work could start after the monsoon, probably by October and it would take another two months for completion, Mr. Prakash said.

While laying the foundation stone for the project on August 16 last, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, then as the Minister for Railways, had promised to open the RuB for the general public by February this year.

Though the Railways was on time in completing its portion of work— pushing concrete boxes beneath the tracks —the delay had been on the part of MCC.

Mr. Gowda, during another inspection last month, had asked the Railways and MCC to get the RuB ready by this month-end.