TNN
 
Lucknow, Oct 14: Four months after a Lucknow Development Authority squad bulldozed some of the constructions in Subrata Roy's Sahara Shahar claiming it was on a zonal road, the Mayawati government has dealt yet another blow.

On Monday, the authority cleared the construction of a railway over-bridge through Sahara Shahar, splitting it in two.

Announcing the decision after the board's meeting, LDA vice-chairman Mukesh Kumar Meshram said the main entrance of the Shahar would have to be removed to pave the way for a 100-metre road which would meet the over-bridge, around 700m long.

The railways, which already has an agreement with LDA, will construct the over-bridge, connecting Gomtinagar with Gomtinagar Extension. Meshram said the LDA would sign an MoU with Sahara for the structure.

A terse Sahara press release only said: "We are in discussions and it will be premature to comment at this stage. Moreover, the case is sub-judice so we do not want to comment."

The LDA board said the road would be an alternate route to the one along Ambedkar Samajik Prerna Sthal in Gomtinagar. In fact, initially, there were plans to construct the over-bridge from the road along CM Mayawati's pet project. However, the LDA later decided to get a police booth constructed on the road — a decision that invited the ire of the Allahabad High Court, which asked for the plan to be reconsidered.

The LDA board on Monday decided that the police booth would remain and the land use of the road would be changed to a green belt. Instead, the alternate route for commuters would be through the zonal road in Vipul Khand Gomtinagar — which will pass through Sahara Shahar.

Meshram said the Shahar gate stood on a "zonal road" as per the city's master plan. "The road should be free of all obstacles before the project begins," he said. In other words, the over-bridge will cut right through the Shahar; it remains uncertain as to when and how the main entrance gate will be removed.

Sahara Shahar has consistently been in the crosshairs of the Mayawati government. After demolishing some constructions at its gate in June, the LDA in July decided to change the land use of the road between the boundary wall of the Shahar and Ambedkar Samajik Prerna Sthal to a parking lot.