GUWAHATI: The foot-over bridge (FOB) at the Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road in Fancy Bazar was inaugurated today by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, incidentally, today is also his birthday.
The FOB was planned to clear the massive vehicular and foot traffic congestion in the area. One end of the foot over-bridge is in front of the PWD campus and the other end is at the Brahmaputra Riverside. A source in the Public Works Department (PWD) said, “The FOB is constructed in a budget of ₹16.60 crore,” adding that the construction is completed in less than a year. On enquiring why is it inaugurated on the day of the Assam Chief Minister’s birthday, the source said that it is “coincidental” as the entire work completed yesterday and hence it could be inaugurated today which is also Chief Minister’s birthday.
Anil Das is the contractor who has constructed the FOB and earlier also constructed the Super Market Flyover, said the source.
The length of the FOB is 73.93 metres, the length of the deck from the median towards the riverside is 11 metres, the length of the deck from the median of the FOB towards the PWD campus side is 9.65 metres and the length of the deck along the median is 53.28 metre. Talking about the width the source informed that the width of the FOB at deck level is 3.10 meters, and the top height of the FOB at roof level (above ground level) is 10.9 meters, said the source. Talking about other features the source informed that the FOB has elevators (up and down) and staircases on both sides for people with disability.
It has CCTV cameras for protection, diesel generating (DG) set for uninterrupted power supply, special granite cladding in the elevator shaft, aluminium composite panelled (ACP) ceiling, special roofing, special illumination and stainless steel railing.