TURA: Concern has been raised over the delay in construction of the Soksan bridge at Mendipathar in North Garo Hills despite funds having been sanctioned for the same by the then government in 2016, soon after it was washed away in the devastating Garo Hills floods of 2014.
A complaint in this regard has been made to the Chief Engineer of PWD Roads and Bridges in Shillong by Advocate and social activist, Rinaldo K Sangma who said that although the bridge was supposed to have been completed within 24 months since it was sanctioned, nothing has been seen on the ground. The contract work for the construction was allotted to one, Bimal Kumar Agarwal from Fancy Valley locality in Tura.
“The construction of the RCC bridge was supposed to be completed last year. However, not even a single support post has been erected till date despite a whopping amount of funds being sanctioned for it. Going by the lack of progress on the bridge construction, it appears that the contractor has totally abandoned the construction work,” Sangma said and added that they would have no option but to knock on the doors of the High Court if work on the bridge was not re-started.
According to Sangma, another project in the region allotted to the same contractor has also failed to make any progress with only half of the work being completed till date.
“The same contractor was allotted the construction of the Dekachang Bridge over the Damring River. However, this bridge too is far from seeing its completion as the contractor has only finished half of the work,” Sangma said.Sangma, while seeking stringent action against the erring contractor has urged the concerned department to carry out a spot inspection of the two construction sites and to direct the reconstruction of the Soksan Bridge. Sangma also raised the issue of pathetic condition of all roads under Resubelpara and Mendipathar and urged that steps are taken to rectify the problem.