Govt to develop Curzon bridge as tourist spot
ALLAHABAD :To preserve heritage in the city, the railways has decided to hand over the century old Curzon Bridge over the Ganga in Phaphamau to the state government for developing it as a tourist spot.
Executive director, (heritage), Railway Board, Subrata Nath, while referring to the letter of the chief bridge engineer of Northern Railway (NR), the principal secretary and the director general, UP Tourism, has issued a missive to NR general manager in this connection. “The state government may acquire the bridge from railways by paying admissible charges for developing the century old Curzon Bridge into heritage structure/tourist site,” reads the letter.
Directives have also been issued to ensure joint spot inspection of the bridge by railways and state government officials before completing the formalities of handing over the bridge to the state government.
On November 9, 2017, the district administration had sent a proposal to the railways for the preservation and development of Curzon Bridge as a heritage site. The bridge connects Allahabad with Phaphamau from Teliarganj over the Ganga .
“It is a welcome decision by railways and a big achievement for Allahabad,”said commissioner, Allahabad division, Ashish Kumar Goel.
There are plans to develop a skywalk over the Ganga. Hindustan Times had published a report on these plans in its October 12, 2017 edition. After the construction of new railway bridge on the Ganga in Phaphamau, the NR initiated the process of demolishing the bridge last year. But it was opposed by locals.
The construction of the bridge was sanctioned in 1901 as a state railway bridge. The bridge has a single broad gauge line between the girders and a roadway on top. The engineer-in-charge was Robert Richard Gales. It opened for Railway traffic on June 15, 1905