Call for repair; Indo-Bangla highway in south Assam messed
Silchar: The Karimganj-Sutarkandi National Highway, which connects south Assam’s Karimganj district to Bangladesh by road, has been in a dilapidated condition for the past several months.
The 14 km road from Karimganj to Sutarkandi, which falls under Karimganj North Assembly Constituency, is an important connectivity route of the district. Coal, limestone and other goods are exported to Bangladesh through this road.
Residents said the highway was last repaired about a year ago and since then the road has developed major cracks. Locals said the breakdown shows that last year’s repair work was not done properly and the road condition is currently a “recipe for accidents”.
They alleged that a large portion of the funds allocated for the road repair work was wasted due to which the road project could not be carried out properly. A section of corrupt PWD officials and political leaders are involved and have embezzled government funds (for road work) and lined their own pockets, residents alleged.
Some people, who claimed to be aware of the technical know-how of the road construction work, alleged that the road repair work was done without following government guidelines. The top layer (pitch) of the road, which was crumbling, (during the repair work a year ago) was not removed and a thin layer of bitumen was applied on the pitch which led to the collapse of the road within a few days. The condition of the road has become pathetic. He claimed that there is several months of repair work.
He said that these days the vehicles are running on the route with dangers but the concerned authorities are not paying any attention. He further said that although the government earns crores of rupees by exporting various commodities to the neighboring country Bangladesh through this road, the authorities are not doing anything to maintain the road in good condition.
Criticizing the political leaders, he said that both the ruling BJP and Congress leaders are oblivious to this issue. He said that no political leader bothered to raise the issue with the authorities.
The residents demanded that the highway be reconstructed. He also demanded that an investigation be conducted to find out the irregularities in the repair work done almost a year ago and those responsible should be identified and punished.
Karimganj North Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha told on Tuesday that he will take up the matter with the authorities concerned and see what can be done in this regard.
An official of PWD (NH Division), Karimganj, who did not want to be named, said he would inform senior officials. The official said that it is hoped that necessary steps will be taken very soon.
