Railway confident of meeting Chenab Bridge deadline

New Delhi: Facing flak over halted construction work of Jammu and Kashmir's iconic Chenab bridge since October 2018, Ministry of Railways has assured that world's highest bridge will be ready on its scheduled time.

Addressing media in the national capital on Tuesday, Indian Railway Station Development Construction (IRSDC) chairperson Vishweesh Chaube said, 'we are confident that Chenab bridge will meet its December 2019 deadline.'

Since its inception, the world's highest bridge project is jinxed. The project was first awarded in August 2004. And, it's initial deadline was set for Feb 2007. Since then four extensions have been sought and granted to the project.

The Chenab bridge project has faced several oppositions and obstructions. The most vocal of them were from India's metro man E Sreedharan. He was part of the expert committee looking into the safety of the railway track. He opposed the construction Sreedharan's main opposition was construction of bridge close to the line of control with Pakistan as it was prone to terror activities, enemy air strikes and natural disaster.

Both DRDO and Indian Railways are working together on this iconic project. The 1,315 metres long bridge will be one of its kind. It is being built 359 metres above the Chenab riverbed. At this height, it will be 35 metres higher than the Eiffel tower and five times the size of Qutub Minar. Its height is not only the bridge's special feature, it can withstand up to 8 magnitude of earthquake and high-intensity blast as well. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 1200 crore.