Students seek home minister’s intervention in delayed construction work at Dawki

SHILLONG: The Jaintia Students Union (JSU) War Jaintia Circle has requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to expedite the resumption of work of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) Dawki in the state along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The president of JSU central body Lawyerson War and circle president Eddy Key Pohtam have petitioned the Home Minister, Amit Shah on September 6.
The JSU maintained that the ICP project has been abandoned and had missed its completion time which was supposed to be in the year 2018. They pointed out that as per the information from RITES Limited which is acting for and on behalf of the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI) for the construction work at the ICP – Dawki, the commencement of work at the site started on October 15, 2016 and the work was given a time period of 24 months for its completion. They went on to allege that prior to the commencement of the work, the LPAI and also the contractor have not consulted the state PWD and have gone ahead with the construction without proper permission from the authority and without the construction of alternate route. For the matter related to the ICP road project and the need for requirement of approval, a meeting was held on the June 14, 2017 i.e. after 8 months from the date of commencement of the work.
In a meeting, chaired by Sub-Divisional Officer Civil, it was clarified for the need of approval by the state PWD to the concerned department before diversion work starts. Also there was no proper timeline for the construction of the new diversion to replace the existing road at the ICP site.
The LPAI through its letter to the state PWD dated September 12, 2017 had written a commitment that the existing road is to be kept motorable until the time the realigned road is ready.
The JSU stated that the PWD had alleged that the contractor had gone ahead to fill the existing road with 2-3 feet of soft soil without any approval. This has left the road unsuitable for transportation of Light Motor Vehicles and has rendered the road slippery and muddy, it added.
The union said that it clearly shows LPAI did not stick to the written commitment and instead made the road un-motorable.
As per information from RITES, 9.5 per cent of the work has been completed at the time of termination and a net payment of approx 2.2 cr had been made to the contractor.
The union has urged the home minister to look into the matter and intervene so that the resumption of work at the ICP site is expedited and the needful is done and the careless operation from the concerned agencies is dealt with necessary consequences.
Pohtam further added that the delay in the completion of the ICP project at Dawki has further barred the prospect of increased economic growth in the state. Whereas other ICP – Phase I projects in other states are currently operational, the people here are yet to see the development of international trade to its full potential at the current Dawki Land Customs of the Indo – Bangladesh Border.