Rourkela: Rourkela MLA Dillip Ray described the pace of construction of the second Brahmani bridge as disappointing after visiting the project site at Panposh Monday.
Ray reviewed the bridge’s piling work at Balughat and expressed resentment about the slow pace. Saturday, he had visited the bridge site and saw cracks on the bridge. Ray said that he fears that the work may not get completed before the deadline if it moves at the current pace.
The MLA said the slow pace of construction of the four-lane BNR Bridge and the six-lane Brahmani bridge at a cost of Rs 381 crore was disappointing. The work on the Brahmani bridge which started June 4 has not made much headway even after 20 days.
Meanwhile, the implementing agency has completed test piling for a distance of only 18 feet.
The MLA’s fear stems from the fact that the implementing agency is digging only one ft everyday and has to put up 90 columns for the bridge.
Ray met the family of Muktikanta Biswal Sunday who undertook a ‘Padayatra’ of 1,350 km from here to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and remind him of his promise he made three years back to the people of Rourkela.
Biswal, a 30-year-old idol maker, embarked on his mission April 16 carrying a national flag to meet the PM and remind him of his promise.
During his visit to the state in 2015, the PM had promised to upgrade the Ispat General Hospital (IGH), the lifeline of the people of Rourkela, into a medical college and super specialty hospital and to complete the construction of the second Brahmani bridge at Panposh, Biswal said.
The MLA met Biswal’s parents at their house in Khariabahal slum in Sector-2. He termed Biswal’s move to meet the PM as a daring step.
Ray said he would join Biswal after returning from New Delhi and will undertake a ‘Padayatra’ from IGH to the Brahmani bridge to drum up support for the issue.
PNN