The South Western Railway (SWR) appears to be rushing to revive work on the proposed Road Over Bridge (RoB) at the Second Railway Gate. Still, questions are being raised over the priority being given to the project when two other major railway infrastructure works in the city are still incomplete.
For the past two days, SWR officials have once again been conducting surveys and layout-related work at the Second Gate, indicating that the long-pending RoB proposal is being actively pursued.
The development comes even as the second lane of the Third Gate RoB is yet to be completed and the Fourth Gate underpass remains unfinished more than a year after the project was taken up.
This has led to a simple question from citizens: Why is SWR pushing ahead with another RoB when projects already taken up have not been completed?
The Second Gate RoB proposal has been under discussion for the past two to three years. The project has received approval, and officials from various departments have conducted several inspections, measurements and surveys. However, actual construction has not commenced.
The latest surveys suggest that the administration is once again trying to move the project towards execution.
Citizens oppose the flyover
Residents are not against solving the traffic congestion at the Second Railway Gate. Their objection is to the proposed solution and its possible impact on the surrounding residential and commercial areas.
Citizens fear that a flyover could create new traffic and safety problems, particularly for pedestrians and schoolchildren who regularly use the route.
The Third Gate experience has also strengthened these concerns. The existing RoB is already carrying heavy traffic, while its second lane remains incomplete. Residents argue that adding another major structure without first assessing the overall traffic network could simply shift the problem from one location to another.
Citizens have therefore demanded that the authorities examine alternatives, including an elevated railway track, instead of proceeding with a conventional flyover.
Fourth Gate raises another question
The Fourth Gate underpass is another unfinished piece of infrastructure that continues to raise concerns.
The project was intended to eliminate the railway crossing and improve connectivity, but the underpass is still not complete despite the passage of more than a year.
For residents, the issue is therefore not whether Belagavi needs better railway-crossing infrastructure. It clearly does. The concern is whether projects are being planned and executed in isolation, without completing existing works and understanding their impact on the city’s already strained road network.
Survey after survey, but where is the execution?
The Second Gate has seen inspections, measurements and planning exercises over the years. The latest two-day survey is yet another indication that the proposal is being brought back into focus.
But residents are likely to ask a more fundamental question this time: Will this survey finally lead to construction, and if so, at what cost to the surrounding neighbourhoods and traffic system?
Before another project is pushed forward, citizens want SWR and the administration to provide clarity on the pending Third Gate RoB lane and Fourth Gate underpass, and explain how the Second Gate project fits into the larger traffic plan for Belagavi.
Infrastructure cannot simply be about sanctioning projects and starting new surveys. The real test is completing what has already been promised and ensuring that every new project solves a problem without creating another.
For now, the machinery is moving at the Second Gate. Citizens are waiting to see whether the same urgency will be visible at the city’s unfinished railway projects.