Planetarium construction work under progress in North Lakhimpur

By our Staff Reporter

Lakhimpur, Aug 4: The planetarium is one of the major developments which has been going on in North Lakhimpur. The project is the initiative of Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) under Government of Assam which has been in progress since 2011.

Along with Lakhimpur, planetarium is also being built in Jorhat and Kokrajhar. An amount of Rs 5 crore was sanctioned by the government for the project through the Department of Science and Technology and the construction is being done under the PWD building department of North Lakhimpur. Almost all the technical and building works of the planetarium has been completed. The electrification works, both interl and exterl, has not yet been completed.

"The wall of the planetarium has been broken due to use of low quality cement and improper construction method. The contract was given to a construction company me IS Company, which is to be blamed for the breakdown of the wall. The construction should have been completed by now as the estimated time was 18 months. The construction has been going on since five years. Now the new government has promised to complete the project within 100 days. We appreciate such an initiative taken by the government as it is not possible to cover the State's requirement with only one planetarium in Guwahati," a local resident said.

Some local people have, however, alleged corruption by the PWD building department in the construction of the planetarium. "The work of the planetarium is almost complete and only the interl and exterl electrification works are yet to be completed. The wall of the planetarium has cracks as a local river has eroded the nearby land. Around 15 bigha area of land is being used to construct the planetarium and the road to the planetarium will also be constructed. Extra amount will be sanctioned to build the road. The construction should have been completed long before but due to less amount received by the department from the sanctioned amount, the contactors were not able to complete the work. But now the new government has promised to complete the works as a memorandum was submitted during Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal's  visit to Lakhimpur," said the Executive Engineer of PWD Building department.