TURA, June 27: BJP leader and GHADC MDC from Tura, Bernard N Marak, has urged Chief Minister Conrad Sangma not to be so defensive over the shoddy work leading to the wall collapse at the PA Sangma Stadium and instead let a high-level independent inquiry committee be invited from the Centre to conduct proper a investigation into the issue.
In his letter to the chief minister, the GHADC MDC, while raising several questions, said the reason for the recent wall collapse was due to backfilling done with red and clay soil which, he presumed, is not recommended by the experts.
“Backfilling with the wrong material was the main cause of the collapse. Red and clay soil should not have been used as water accumulates and exerts pressure. The weep hole on the wall was blocked because of the red soil. Stone, sand, dust and other materials should have been used,” Bernard said.
The Tura MDC added that a closer observation revealed that the wall did not slide but failed to hold the weight of the water and clay.
“You yourself acknowledged that there was a mud slip which caused the wall to collapse, so the question is from where the mud came? Who were the engineer and the contractor? I filed a simple FIR to see how sincerely the police department would investigate the matter, but before investigation, SP Tura Vivek Vivekananda Rathore has given a defensive statement,” Bernard said, adding that the police did not even ask for the DPR of the project.
Reminding that the project is worth Rs 128 crore, Bernard said someone should be held accountable for the shoddy work, especially given that so much money has been allotted.
“The people concerned should be directed to remove the red soil from the walls. Secondly, construct a shade in the galleries as the water from the galleries without proper roof accumulated on the side of the ground and caused a mud-slip. Thirdly, the drainage is not proper as the outlets in the collapsed wall only had 4″ pvc pipes which were directly drained to the Diringga road,” Bernard added.
