OUR CORRESPONDENT
DIGBOI: Less than a month after the Digboi-Duliajan connecting road was opened to the public, all 80 street lights installed along the stretch have reportedly gone dark, triggering public concern and raising questions over the execution of the nearly Rs 3-crore project.
The 780-metre road connecting Rastriya Vidyalaya with the Tipam BOD entry point was inaugurated on May 15 under the Chief Minister’s Urban Road Development Scheme. The project included widening and upgrading the road and installing 80 street lights—40 on either side—to improve visibility and commuter safety. However, within weeks of commissioning, the entire lighting system reportedly became defunct, leaving the stretch in darkness at night.
The premature failure of the newly installed lighting network has fuelled public criticism, with many residents questioning how a major government-funded project could begin facing issues so soon after its inauguration.
Meanwhile, student leader Nikhil Koch has alleged serious irregularities in the construction of the road. He claimed that portions of the stretch, particularly near the culvert adjoining the Digboi Public Cremation Ground, were not built according to prescribed standards and are already showing signs of deterioration. Locals have also alleged that temporary repairs were carried out before the inauguration to conceal defects, which have since reappeared.
Responding to the allegations, Public Works Department Assistant Executive Engineer Binod Gogoi maintained that the road was constructed strictly according to approved specifications. He said that certain vulnerable locations involving old British-era structures posed engineering challenges and that the contractor had undertaken additional improvement works beyond the sanctioned scope to strengthen such stretches. He added that any concerns raised by the public would be examined by the department.
On the issue of the street lights, a senior PWD official attributed the failure to a technical and mechanical snag involving power cable capacity that allegedly led to a short circuit. Restoration work, the official said, is expected to begin within the next couple of days.
However, a senior official of Indian Oil Corporation’s Digboi Refinery offered a different perspective. Speaking to The Sentinel, one of the refinery’s general managers said that IOC had already fulfilled its responsibility regarding power supply long ago, following a request from the concerned authorities.
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