Deputy chief minister Y Patton inaugurated the long-awaited one carriageway of the four-lane Sanourü bridge leading to civil secretariat and Nagaland Legislative Assembly here on Monday.
In his brief address on the occasion before flagging off the two-way traffic, Patton, who is also in charge of home and PWD (R&B) departments, acknowledged the department, Kohima village, contractors and others involved for completing the work despite many challenges.
He appealed to the contractors to complete the remaining two-lane portion before 2021-end and assured that any issue that could arise would be resolved by the State government for smooth and early completion of the remaining portion of the bridge.
In his brief report, PWD (R&B) commissioner & secretary Rovilatuo Mor narrated how heavy rains in 2015 caused considerable damage to many roads and bridges, thus affecting movement of vehicles, adding that one such major catastrophe was stagnation of water in Sanourü river due to blockage of the cross drain (culvert).
Subsequently, he said construction of a permanent four-lane RCC bridge over Sanourü river was proposed and Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORTH) sanctioned the project in December 2015 and work was allotted to M/s Vilelie Khamo – KC Angami (joint venture) in July 2016.
In view of the inconveniences being faced by commuters due to the subway, Mor said contractors were directed to concentrate on completing one portion of the bridge first, and accordingly the contractors tirelessly carried out the work and completed the two-lane portion.
He claimed that work for the remaining two-lane portion and ancillary works were on in full swing and exuded confidence that the contractors and the department would execute the work with the same enthusiasm and complete it.
It may be recalled that MORTH had sanctioned Rs 20 crore for construction of the arch bridge over Sanuorü river.
Speaking to Nagaland Post, contractor KC Angami explained that considering the plight of the citizens, one portion was opened to traffic, but stressed it would be difficult to complete the remaining work unless the bills were cleared.
He claimed that Rs 16-17 crore was spent on the bridge so far and assured that once the pending bills were cleared the remaining portion would be completed at the soonest possible time.
CE clarifies
Meanwhile, PWD(R&B) chief engineer Limanaro clarified that the project cost was Rs 20 crore and not as reported.
Interacting with media persons after the inauguration event, the chief engineer claimed that many additional works had been executed after the work order was issued and therefore the department was still in the process of reassessing the new development.
She said until the assessment was completed, the exact figure could not be ascertained.
Out of the Rs 20 crore sanctioned by MORTH, she claimed that only Rs 60 lakh was released. However, seeing the progress and need for the contractors to mobilise their resources, the State government released Rs 7 crore in 2019 and subsequently Rs 7.6 crore was paid to the contractors, she added.
It may be mentioned that during an interaction with media persons on July 15 this year, it was told that though the initial cost of the project was Rs 20 core, it would escalate to approximately Rs 37 crore due to certain technicalities involved.