The central government has told Parliament that no construction firm evinced interest in building NH34's 5.5km bypass at Dalkhola in North Dinajpur although tenders have been issued five times since July last year.
The construction of the bypass that includes a road over bridge (ROB) is necessary to reduce traffic congestion in Dalkola where commuters at times need two hours to cross a railway level crossing.
Replying to a question from Md. Salim, the CPM MP of Raiganj on July 28, Pon Radhakrishnan, the Union minister of state for road transport and highways, said: "There is a proposal for the construction of a bypass at Dalkhola (5.5km) including ROB, on NH34. The tender for the work was re-invited four times since July, 2015, which could not be materialised due to poor response from bidders."
Salim had asked about the progress of the project and wanted to know whether the Centre had taken any step to complete the project. The minister said "the bid will be invited again".
Dalkhola is around 50km from Raiganj and around 130km from Siliguri. It is close to Purnia More, the junction of NH31 and NH34.
All vehicles travelling from north Bengal and the Northeast to Calcutta and other destinations in south Bengal take NH34. The plan is to build the bypass that starts near Purnia More and enters Dalkhola before ending at Mohammadpur.
Traffic slows down in Dalkhola mainly because of the railway level-crossing.
[Via: Telegraph]
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