Tura, 11th Oct: The AMPT road is one of the oldest roads in the state of Meghalaya and connects all the major hubs of West Garo Hills to the town of Tura, the district headquarter. The road has been in terrible condition for a very long time and it was only recently that the PWD took up the project to develop the road and was sanctioned an amount of Rs 100 crs for its development.
The road is expected to become a National Highway after it handed over by the contractors. However, the development of the project has left the people aghast, with allegations of sub standard materials being used.
The FKJGP, Phulbari circle, which has been working tirelessly to ensure the road, comes up the way it has been specified, has found various anomalies in the construction of the road. The 78 km stretch that is supposed to be upgraded to an intermediate road is facing teething problems already. The FKJGP alleged that the road would not even last about 3 months due to the poor quality of materials being used.
Stone chips, mud and sand that are supposed to provide the base upon which the road is supposed to last is so bad that the stone chips sometimes even break in the hand. The amount of sand that is required to be used is not being used at all and even the mud filling does not stand the test of quality. The FKJGP alleged that if the same materials are used then it would just increase the problems of the people, with repairs being the norm, rather than the exception.
Bappun Sangma, the FKJGP AGS said, “We submitted a memo to the DC to raise our concerns regarding the road on the 21st of August through our President, Treepon Sangma. The poor quality of the road is evident even in the stretches where the road is partly completed. None of the stretches lasted more than a month, with potholes appearing. The DC sent the same to the concerned department, but no one came forward to actually inspect the sites where work is on. We are worried that this project too will turn out to be same as most of the projects within the state – a failed one”.
On inspection of the road, large tracts have been found to be potholed including, where work has already been completed. Considering the route is a very important one, the mechanism of checks needs to be there to ensure corruption does not rear its head. The road is already overdue, with the completion date in March, 2013. The delay, along with the substandard road is something the FKJGP is fighting.(SP News)
