The Alkapuri underpass has become a ‘dark tunnel’. This has resulted due to a tussle between the company that owns the contract for the illumination and advertisement on the pass and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). As a result, several minor accidents keep happening daily that go unnoticed.

The issue has become all the more important now, as traffic has been rerouted from the Jetalpur underpass to this one due to the construction of a Rail Over Bridge at Jetalpur. As per the contract, the underpass is supposed to be ‘properly’ illuminated round the clock. However, it sees illumination only in the evening when household tube lights are switched on.

Officials at the VMC’s buildings and establishment department said the project of beautification and illumination was taken up by the road projects department and the intention was to earn revenue out of advertisements. But things became complicated after the advertising company complained of high maintenance costs.

“After the underpass was repaired, there was a big ceremony and both the sides were decorated and illuminated. But soon, the advertising firm realised that the flex hoardings are being damaged by commuters with blades since the height of the hoardings was too low. Further, water from the railway platform started leaking from the roof and that damaged the electrification gadgets. In all, for the contractor, it turned out to be an expensive affair,” said a senior VMC official.

The contractor eventually approached the concerned officials and intended to pull out of the agreement. “But that was not possible, as the contract was for 10 years and its discontinuation required the completion of a set of formalities. Now, the entire issue has become a bone of contention and the files are gathering dust at the cost of inconvenience of thousands of commuters,” said another official, who was earlier involved in the project.