Protestors' slogans drown out Congress leaders' voice

Locals block Tetelia-Malaibari road in the Dimoria area in Kamrup (Metro) district. Slogans like 'Akon Bora go back, Tarun Gogoi murdabad, Ajanta Neog go back' rend Dimoria air.

From our Correspondent

DIMORIA, May 24: The slogans that rent the air in the Dimoria area today are in total contrast to what the Congress leaders in the Sarusajai area in Guwahati said. This striking contrast that drowned out the voice of the Congress leaders, a section of right-thinking people thinks, is the exact difference between the rosy picture which Dispur wants to paint and the true picture on the ground.       

Various voluble Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, today delivered lectures at Sarusajai in the city enumerating the development works done by the Congress government in Assam over the past 14 years. The protesters that blocked the Tetelia-Malaibari PWD link road in the Dimoria area today sang in a different tune by shouting slogans against their local MLA, the Chief Minister and the PWD Minister.

Hundreds of local people in the Dimoria area today blocked the Tetelia-Malaibari road, an approach road to NH-37, in the Dimoria area. They shouted slogans like 'Akon Bora go back, Tarun Gogoi murdabad, Ajanta Neog go back, etc'. 

The Tetelia-Malaibari link road is a veritable deathtrap, right from the onset of pre-monsoon rains. An educated guess makes the would-be picture of the road quite vivid when the monsoons will arrive in the State in mid-June. With big potholes and mud (red soil) at their worst, the road is not free from fatal accidents for motorcyclists, bicycle riders and even vehicle drivers, especially at night.

Can Dispur imagine as to why the condition of the road has come to such a pass after a few spells of pre-monsoon rains when the State PWD has sanctioned Rs 60 lakh for its renovation and upkeep? According to the local people, the rot sets in right from the sanction of funds, and it is by the State PWD in the instant case.  And they point the finger at local PWD SDO Dulu Bordoloi and a PWD official ba Baruah, besides contractor Kumud Dutta, for the plight of the road. They SDO and the other PWD official always come to the rescue of the contractor when he is blamed for the plight of the road. This clearly shows that they are trying to swindle the funds sanctioned, in cahoots with the contractor.

In order to buttress their allegations the local people say that contractor Dutta spread three or four trucks of stones in some potholes of the road in February this year, and washed his hands of the work. And now the condition of the road is pitiable. When asked about the road, officials of the local PWD office say that the works could not be continued due to rains. The local people, however, say that pre-monsoon rains lashed Kamrup (Metro) in the first week of April. "Since the contractor sprayed stones in some parts of the road in February-end, there was enough time for him to complete the works of the road in March. What made the contractor stop his work in February-end and wait for pre-monsoon rains to lash the area?" the locals questioned.

The people of the locality further say that the funds sanctioned was meant for the fiscal 2014-15, and the contractors tried to go away with the money without doing anything worthwhile. 

Apart from office-goers, students are the worst-affected ones due to the plight of the road.

The locals blocked the road for an hour from 11 am. At 12 noon, a police official, ba Kumar Saikia, came to the scene and assured the protesters of ensuring their meeting with the administration. The protesters then withdrew their blockade.

The plight of roads in the Dimoria area in Kamrup (M) is a common picture of roads almost everywhere in Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's 'vikoshito (developed) Asom'.