OUR CORRESPONDENT
DIGBOI: While the ongoing Digboi-Duliajan road project has allegedly featured regular accidents, serious concerns have been raised on the time-bound completion of the 40 kilometres long Digboi-Pengaree-Bordumsa-Mohong road project executed by PWD under Assam Mala 2.0 for the year 2023-2024 here in Tinsukia district.
The snail-pace progress of the project marked by frequent halts in the works has become a cause of public inconvenience besides risks to the traffic due to incomplete culverts and vulnerable road diversions with poor safety measures.
Notably, the incumbent Additional Chief Engineer of PWD Roads (Eastern Zone) along with his team had visited the various project sites under the division and inspected the actual physical progress of the work. According to department sources, of the 40-kilometre project, the 20-kilometre stretch between Mohong -Bordumsa-Pengaree has tangibly progressed considerably in comparison to the 20-kilometre Pengaree-Digboi portion which has posed serious challenges.
Significantly, the Mohong -Bordumsa-Pengaree portion awarded to Lalon Moran in a joint partnership with the Purvanchal Building Pvt Limited, has reportedly achieved more than 30 percent of physical progress while just around 13 percent has been accomplished by Moran’s co-contractor based at Guwahati.
Meanwhile, in a subsequent review meeting held between the department and the contractors of various jurisdictions recently at Dibrugarh PWD Divisional Office, the contractors were directed to accelerate the pace of work and improve the status before the Chief Minister’s review meeting tentatively slated on August 20.
Along with others, the review was pending for various legislative assembly constituencies including Digboi, Makum, and Tinsukia.
When inquired about the feasibility of time-bound completion and delivery of the project to the department by December 2025, one of the partner contractors of the joint venture lamented that sudden termination of zero Transit Pass (TP) allegedly by the forest department had delayed the procurement of raw materials on time, leading to stagnation for a significant period of time.
The frequent accidents underscore that unsafe diversions and incomplete works aren’t merely inconvenient but endanger lives, disrupt services, and can jeopardize public health and livelihoods.
Unmarked, sharp and poorly visible diversions, blocked or incomplete structures, impassable areas, stalled renovation work, and inadequate signage may repeat major road mishaps like the one at Tinsukia-Dibrugarh bypass in November 2024 which killed 4 persons of a family and the Golaghat tragedy of January 2024 which claimed 12 lives.
Also Read: Digboi Refinery conducts mock drill on bomb threat ahead of Independence Day
Also Watch: