In Lucknow, what was supposed to be a symbol of progress—a new overbridge—has become a daily slap in the face for over 500,000 residents. The unfinished overbridge, intended to bring relief and ease traffic, now stands as a monument to frustration and hardship.

This is no ordinary problem. Every morning, from schoolchildren to hospital patients, everyone is trapped for hours at the railway crossing. When trains pass, the city comes to a standstill. People risk their lives, running across the tracks, all because of an incomplete project and the tangled web of land acquisition.

The two-lane overbridge connecting Krishna Nagar to Kesari Kheda over the Lucknow-Kanpur railway section (crossing number four) began construction on February 1, 2024, with an estimated cost of ₹74.48 crore—now escalated to ₹84 crore. Work started from the ground up but halted at the walls due to a complex that blocked the bridge’s path. According to the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation, the complex is registered as a green belt and must be demolished, but the landowners have not agreed to the terms, leading to a deadlock over land acquisition, resettlement, and compensation laws. These regulations bring transparency but have slowed the process to a crawl.

Residents of Maharajapuram, Gangakheda, and Pandit Kheda live their lives under the shadow of this unfinished bridge. Here, traffic jams are the norm, not the exception. When two or three trains pass at once, chaos ensues. Experts say this is not a technical or financial issue, but a result of lack of willpower and bureaucratic sluggishness. The bridge remains unfinished, but the people’s suffering is complete.

The big question: Will the land ever be cleared, and will people ever be freed from this daily struggle? Until there is an answer, the streets of Lucknow will continue to cry out every day for a solution.

Once again, development work in Lucknow has fallen victim to land acquisition problems. Reporting from Indralok Colony in Krishna Nagar, where the overbridge was supposed to be built over the Kesari crossing, it’s clear how a single house has stalled the entire project. Traffic jams are constant, as the railway line connecting Kanpur to Mahanagar remains blocked.

Local residents, like Amit Singh, express their frustration: “Work on the bridge has been stalled for six months, not just because of one house, but several compensation disputes that the government has failed to resolve. The project was supposed to be completed by October 2024, but as October 2025 approaches, nothing has changed. Every day, 500,000 people suffer—what should be a 100-meter journey takes over an hour. Despite repeated complaints to officials and politicians, we only get empty assurances.”

The situation is so severe that even service roads are blocked, making it nearly impossible for rickshaws or cycles to pass. Women who used to take their children to school now stay home; a 100-meter trip to school can take two to three hours due to the jam. Ambulances and fire brigades are often stuck, leading to tragic incidents, including deaths from heart attacks and fires that local residents have had to extinguish themselves.

The area has also seen a spike in thefts, as police patrol cars cannot reach in time due to the constant traffic jams. In just one month, seven thefts have been reported in a 100–200 meter radius. With the monsoon approaching, residents fear a repeat of last year’s flooding, which will be even harder to manage with the growing population.

Locals like Abhishek Mishra add, “This bridge has been stuck for seven months. The biggest problem is movement—trains block the tracks, and the whole area from Pandit Kheda to Saubhagya Marylam is gridlocked. The government is offering compensation, but some landowners are demanding ₹4 crore, making resolution impossible. Meanwhile, children can’t get to school, and life is at a standstill.”

Residents now call the unfinished bridge a ‘monument’ to government apathy. The big question remains: When will the authorities wake up and finally provide relief to the half a million people suffering every day?

**Reported by Ankit Mishra from Lucknow for UP Tak**