Villagers meet PWD minister

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, March 30: The members of the Pangam Raliang Border Development Committe (PRBDC) along with NGOs and Rangbah Shnong (Headmen) from four villages of Jaintia Hills met PWD Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar today.

The delegation demanded the resumption of construction work of the Kurliya Bridge within 15 days and its completion within six months.

Speaking to reporters President of JSU, Rikut Parein, said that the minister has given assurance that in April the PWD department will call for a fresh tender and will allot the construction work to new contractors since the contract given to the old contractor has been cancelled.

The delegation also said that they are hopeful that the assurance given by the minister will be fulfilled and they will witness the immediate construction of the bridge.

Parein also said that the minister did not specifically clarified the reason for the delay of the construction of the bridge but inform them that on many occasions he has written to the old contractor (RV Associates) asking for reasons for the delay but now the department has decided to immediately remove the contractor.

According to the delegation, the bridge construction has been pending right from the year 2004 till date which is almost more than 11 years and people are fed up which is also the reason the PRBDC was formed.

Meanwhile, the PRBDC also demanded that such contractors should be blacklisted, arrested and punished according to law because he have cheated not only the people but also the government and also put the lives of many people in danger.

It may be mentioned that the construction of the Kurliya Bridge over the Myntang River was sanctioned on August 16 at the cost of Rs 428.65 Lakhs and was supposed to be completed within years since it was sanctioned and the work was allocated to R V Associates, Assam.

The Kurliya Bridge is the bridge which connects the villages like Psiar, Moolber, Khatkasla, Moojem, in the disputed Block I with Assam and many other villages of Jaintia Hills to Meghalaya which crosses the Myntang River.