State PWD minister Kshiti Goswami said an underpass has now become necessary since the road over the track has long been blocked by the railways and so people, who stay near the station, face trouble while crossing the tracks.

The new subway will connect the Station Road near Jadavpur University campus with the Jheel Road on the other side. The subway though would not be very wide since there is a paucity of space. Thus, it will only be open for pedestrians. As for the motorists, they will have to use the Sukanta Setu.

PWD is facing a major crisis as a number of its projects have been stalled for the past three months due to the increasing cost of materials used in construction, Goswami said. He said prices of steel, iron, cement and bitumen have gone up by leaps and bounds.

Many of the contractors had informed the PWD that they are unable to carry on with the project as the cost of materials have jumped by nearly 30%. Goswami said this prompted him to write to finance minister Asim Dasgupta, requesting him to increase the budget a fortnight ago. "I wrote to Dasgupta to ensure that the projects that have come to a standstill can be taken forward. Dasgupta has also agreed to increase the budget," he added.

The contractors would be paid after calculating the difference between the amount they had been paid and the present estimate after the cost of materials shot up.