Residents of Sivalingapuram in Ondipudur staged a protest at the Coimbatore Corporation’s East Zone office in Singanallur on Monday, demanding that underground drainage (UGD) works at the proposed site be shifted to facilitate the construction of a railway overbridge (ROB) at Level Crossing No. 3 at Surya Nagar.Led by members of the Sivalingapuram Residents Welfare Association, the residents staged a protest at the office for several hours as officials arrived late. They urged the Corporation to expedite the long-pending ROB project and remove encroachments along the approach road.The residents said a government order for constructing the ROB in Ward 56 of Ondipudur was issued on December 7, 2011. The road was handed over to the Highways Department through a Corporation resolution on June 1, 2012, but the resolution was subsequently cancelled in April 2013.Following a case filed by the residents’ association in the Madras High Court, the Corporation passed another resolution on June 12, 2019, cancelling the proposal for a grade separator and deciding to proceed with the ROB. The Highways Department subsequently conducted a land survey and soil test, but the project has not taken off, they said.They said the project had remained pending for nearly 15 years, causing hardship to residents. The ongoing UGD works at the proposed ROB site should be shifted to another location to prevent further delay in the bridge project, they said.They also alleged that a 40-foot-wide road in the locality had been reduced to around 16 feet due to encroachments. They urged the Corporation to pass a fresh resolution for the ROB, remove the encroachments and commence the project.East Zone Assistant Commissioner Dakshinamurthy held talks with the residents and assured them that Corporation engineers would inspect the site on Tuesday and take further action based on their findings. Following the assurance, the residents withdrew their protest. Published - August 10, 2026 06:52 pm IST