Corruption in drain construction in Guwahati city alleged

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Corruption and violations of necessary regulations are not something new when it comes to the construction of projects related to public amenities. The same has come to public notice during the construction of the public drains in the Lachit Nagar locality of the city.

In what can be clearly seen through the uncovered manholes of the under-construction drains, the contractors who had been allotted the particular part of the work clearly cut corners in their work and failed to excavate the previously existing drain before laying the new one. As a result, the previously existing drain walls still exist. So even though the newly constructed drain looks much broader from above, it in fact remains much narrower from the inside. Such faulty construction means only waste of the public funds utilised for the construction, and the project will fail to yield any positive output as the usable width of the drain remains the same as before.  A local person said, “We have suffered so much in the name of the renovation of this drain, but only now do we realise the extent of corruption taking place in these construction projects. Instead of actually expanding the drain to accommodate more water, all the contractors have done is make it look bigger. Such faulty construction is responsible for the urban flooding in the city.”

Another person mentioned, “Ministers and agencies merely keep on commenting that action is taken towards resolving urban flooding in Guwahati. But with the condition of work we see near our house, we now know why such promises are never fulfilled. We demand that the GMC and other authorities concerned take immediate corrective action to prevent such developments.”

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