Tetelia-Malaibari link road a deathtrap
A FACT FILE
* Rs 60 lakh sanctioned for the Tetelia-Malaibari PWD link road in the Dimoria area.
* Contractor spread three or four trucks of stones in some areas in February-end and then stop work.
* The road is a veritable deathtrap.
* PWD officials verbally say that the work could not be done due to rains.
* Pre-monsoon rains started lashing the area from first week of April. Why did not the contractor work till first week of April to complete the work? Ask local people.
* Local people point accusing finger at the local PWD SDO and the junior engineer for the plight of the road.
From our Correspondent
DIMORIA, May 17: The Tetelia-Malaibari PWD link road in the Dimoria area in Kamrup (Metro) district is a veritable deathtrap, right from the onset of pre-monsoon rains. Thus 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 junior engineer ba Baruah, besides the contractor concerned, for the plight of the road.
In order to buttress their allegations the local people say that the contractor concerned 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 work 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. "Whose responsibility is it to get the road repaired on time? Arn't the top officials of the PWD the ones who should have taken utmost care to get the work done? If they fail to get their duty properly accomplished on time, on what right should they stick to the posts they are holding?" the affected people questioned.
Apart from office-goers, students are the worst-affected ones due to the plight of the road.
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'.