Deadline looms, but Mangaldai Bypass barely half done; locals slam delay

Mangaldai, May 19: Conscious citizens here have expressed concern over the snail’s pace of construction work of the NH-15 bypass through the outskirts of Mangaldai town.

The project was launched almost two years ago with the target of completing the work by June this year. However, with less than a month left for the deadline to end, it is reliably reported that the overall progress of work has not touched even the 50 percent mark.

It is pertinent to mention that in view of the gradual increase in traffic over the last several years and subsequent increase in the number of road accidents on the NH-15 passing through Mangaldai town, a public demand arose for constructing a bypass outside the town. In response to this demand, the MP from the Darrang-Udalguri constituency, Dilip Saikia, took the initiative in this regard both inside and outside Parliament. This resulted in the approval of a four-lane bypass by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Inauguration of construction work on the 15.1 km stretch of the bypass – starting at Chengeliapara (Aulachowka) village in the west and ending at Daksaki (Khataniapara) village in the east – was done virtually on June 5, 2023, by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari from New Delhi in presence of Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and MP Dilip Saikia, among others.

The work was allotted to Vensar Construction Company, a Hyderabad-based contractor firm, against a tender value of Rs 535 crore. The project, which includes earthwork, six small bridges, 44 culverts, guard walls, and other infrastructural development, was scheduled for completion within two years.

However, the progress of work has been very slow, with only around 40 per cent of work being completed till the middle of April last, against payment for 30 per cent work.

Dilip Saikia, who has been reviewing the progress of the work quite regularly, has laid stress on the need to expedite the work before the onset of the rainy season. Recently, he took stock of the progress of work from senior officials of the construction company over phone, and expressed deep dissatisfaction when he came to know about only 40 per cent progress being made so far.

He asked the construction company to ensure completion of the work and make the bypass ready for inauguration by December this year.

Meanwhile, the information boards installed by the construction company at both ends of the bypass project lack detailed information such as the date of commencement of work, the expected date of completion of work, phone numbers of the officials concerned of the construction company, etc., thereby raising a question mark over the transparency of the ongoing project as well as the company’s professional ethics.

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