GUWAHATI, July 1: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has demanded an investigation into the mishaps caused by alleged technical flaws in the newly-constructed Maharaj Prithu flyover connecting Dighalipukhuri to Noonmati here.
The party also demanded the temporary closure of the flyover, which has turned into a “death trap”. A young businessman had recently lost his life in an accident while commuting through the flyover.
Notably, the construction of the 4.2 km long, four-lane flyover was completed in just 28 months and inaugurated on March 10 this year.
Furthermore, the Opposition party demanded strict punitive action against the contractors and engineers involved in building the “technically-flawed” flyover.
Speaking to mediapersons here, Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president, Meera Borthakur stated that preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) for the flyover, built at an expenditure of Rs 852 crore, must also be brought under the purview of the investigation.
Borthakur questioned why the public works department (PWD) and the concerned authorities failed to address the issue, despite the “flaw” being brought to their attention. She further said that a single spell of rain makes the flyover unfit for vehicular movement.
The Congress leader also questioned how such negligence could occur, making the flyover dangerous for commuting, especially when the department responsible for flyover construction is directly under the chief minister.
She further alleged that corruption in the construction work took place because certain “corrupt contractors were being shielded and patronised”.
