HAFLONG, Sept 19 - The Haflong-Jatinga feeder road � the only connecting 7.7-km road from Haflong Post Office to Jatinga Zero Point � has become a serious concern for the people over the delay in construction and the quality of work.
The construction of the road, which connects Haflong with the NH-54E at Jatinga, was awarded to Simplex Somdatt Builders Joint Ventures in 2011 at an estimated cost of over Rs 25 lakh by the PWD Building and NH Department. The completion period of the road was three years.
Many organisations of Dima Hasao, including students, had staged several dharnas demanding immediate completion of the road, but it still remained incomplete and developed numerous pot holes causing sufferings for the commuters. Since the Simplex Somdatt Builders Joint Ventures was not responding to the people�s demand for the completion of the road, the people of Dima Hasao approached the then Deputy Commissioner, Juri Phukan, who compelled the company to carry on the construction work.
As a result, the road was constructed but with substandard quality. The road has already developed hundreds of potholes within a few days of its construction.
Indrajit Bora, Executive Engineer, PWD Haflong Road Division, who had been supervising the construction, said that on many occasions he had approached the authority for the withdrawal of Simplex Somdatt Builders Joint Ventures company since the company could not complete the work on time.
It is learnt that instead of taking any action against the company, the department concerned revised the estimate and also instructed the company to complete the work within December 2018. However, the construction company is yet to start its pending work on the Jatinga-Haflong road.
The people of Dima Hasao and neighbouring districts have expressed a serious concern over the lackadaisical attitude of the Chief Engineer, PWD NH, as the Jatinga-Haflong road is one of the prime roads connecting the highway. The people are of the opinion that there must be some nexus between the officials of PWD Building and NH Department and the Simplex Somdatt Builders Joint Ventures for which the department concerned could not take any action against the construction company.
