Work quality of Rs. 145.95 cr ‘Asom Mala’ road under scanner after box culvert collapses

Mangaldai, Nov 2: Uncertainty looms large over early completion of the Rs. 145.95-crore Dalgaon-Dhupguri road via Devpukhuri under the ‘Asom Mala’ project after an important box culvert collapsed on the eastern approach of the bridge over the river Pachnoi at Dhupguri, forcing the authorities to erect a road-closure signage near Silbori.

The six square meter box culvert had been constructed for the safety of the structure of the road along with a guard wall on its southern side, but it collapsed, thereby raising serious doubts about the quality of the work, including the materials used, proper adherence to departmental norms, and regular monitoring of implementation of the DPR.

This correspondent visited the site after several local people highlighted the issue of possible deviation from the DPR, including the use of materials such as sandy soil.

A few office-bearers of the local VDP - Abul Hussain, Baharul Islam, Sarfaruddin, and others - alleged that before the execution of the work at that place, they had pointed out the possible risk of constructing such a small-sized box culvert at the site which is within a few dozen meters of the river Pachnoi. However, their words of caution were ignored by the personnel concerned of the construction firm as well as government agency. The personnel allegedly brusquely rejected the possibility of changing the site of the box culvert.

Meanwhile, when contacted by The Assam Tribune, the executive engineer of the implementing agency, PWD (Roads) Mangaldai-Dalgaon territorial division, Kushal Kumar Deka, observed that the reason for the collapse of the culvert was the sudden heavy flow of water following breach of embankments on the northern upper stream of the project.

However, it is pertinent to mention in this context that hardly any sign of damage to the nearby houses, caused by such a recent flash flood, could be witnessed during the visit of this correspondent and a few media colleagues to the site in question.

As per records available with the department, the work order of this 19.024-km-long project, against a sanctioned amount of Rs 145.95 crore, was allotted to Gautam and Prabhu construction companies in a joint venture (JV) mode in February 2021, giving two years' time for completion of the work. The DPR of the work was reportedly prepared by Fortress Infracon Ltd, a consultancy agency based in Thane, Maharashtra.

Be that as it may, the project remains incomplete more than one-and-half years after the expiry of the deadline for completion of the work. The physical progress of the project, which connects Darrang and Sonitpur districts via Udalguri as an alternative route to NH-15, has been recorded as 98 per cent. On the other hand, the financial progress stands at 99.55 per cent, whereas an amount of Rs. 14,529.81 lakh has already been paid to the contractors.

-By Mayukh Goswami