SHILLONG: The construction of the Meghalaya Assembly building has resumed after two months of hiatus due to the nationwide lockdown, albeit with less than half the number of workers.
The Rs 127-crore Assembly building project, executed by Uttar Pradesh-based Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Ltd since June 15 last year, is coming up at Mawdiangdiang in New Shillong. During a visit to the site on Saturday, this reporter found that work was in progress.
Nadeem Kausar Nasiri, the deputy project manager, said work started last week but with only 60 workers. There were 300 workers at the site before the lockdown. He informed that it would be difficult to send the workers home “amid lockdown and restrictions”.
So the construction company has promised bonus payment to the remaining workers and taking care of their basic necessities. “Even if they reach home, they have to be in quarantine. Also, coming back to Meghalaya will be difficult. It is natural for the workers to long for meeting family as most of them are Muslims and this is Ramzan month. The festival is coming. But here, we are giving them food and paying them regularly,” said Nasiri.
Festivals always bring with them a deep pining for the dear ones and it is no different for the construction workers at Umsawli. “The heart longs to see my wife and children but there is no way. I am working outside my state for the last three years and managed to visit home during Eid in the previous years.
But this year is different. We have not even requested our supervisor for leave as we all know about the situation. But hope is still alive, so let’s see,” said a labourer from Assam who was taking a break from work.
The 300 labourers at the site are registered with four labour contractors from Assam. Nasiri said the monthly wage is being sent directly to the workers’ bank accounts instead of paying the contractor.
“This way, the workers’ families do not have to worry about money transaction in this crisis,” he added.
The project site, spread over 80 acres, is silently transforming into a gigantic concrete structure after felling of thousands of pine trees.”
“The workers are putting in extra hours to meet the deadline, which is January 2022. Work starts at 8am and goes on till 5pm, “if not more because the sun sets late nowadays”, said Nasiri. “Work continues in the night too, sometimes till 11pm.” Around 40 per cent of the work is done.
The lockdown coupled with rain have made the pace of work sluggish but “we will try to finish it on time”, said Nasiri, adding, “Though time extension is by default owing to the emergency (the pandemic), we are not thinking about that. Rather, we want to meet the deadline. That is a comfortable option.”
However, Nasiri alerts about cost escalation because most of the raw materials come from Assam and Kolkata. The construction is on with the materials in stock.
“We had around 3,000 bags of cement and some were delivered yesterday (Friday). We are hoping that after May 17, relaxation will be there on transportation,” he said.