Delayed 50 Bedded Tamenglong District Hospital at Duigailong

New Delhi: 10th July, 2017

Tamenglong Concern Group, Delhi appeals to the general public to extend full support to the District Administration for early completion of the much delayed 50 Bedded Tamenglong District Hospital at Duigailong.

The Tamenglong Concern Group, Delhi (TCGD) convened a meeting and discussed about the 50 Bedded Hospital project in Tamenglong. The construction of the building started way back in 2009 but is still lying incomplete even after eight years of awarding the contract.

The contract for the construction of this hospital located at Duigailong village was awarded in 2009 with an estimated budget of Rs. 21.26 crore. The original dateline for completion of the work was December, 2012. However, since the contractors, sub-contractors and the implementing authority failed to meet the dateline it was extended to March, 2016 but the work still remains incomplete.

A Show Cause Notice was issued on 13th October, 2016 by the District Administration to the contractors. The contractors replied to the SCN on 21st October, 2016 wherein they promised to finish the construction within six months. But the contractors yet again failed to honour their commitment. Due to their failure, the contract was cancelled by the government and taken over by the District Administration. The District Administration aims to complete the work before August 15, 2017.

During the meeting, the TCGD unanimously agreed to give full support to the District Administration which is executing and monitoring the work. It appears the District Administration is facing a war like situation everyday because of interference from certain sections, including threat. According to firsthand account from the concerned administration, additional security force is being provided at the work site because rouguish elements continue to turn up at the site and disturb the workers.

Inspite of such challenges and unsafe atmosphere the administration is assuring the people of completion by the promised dateline and also assuring quality work. About 100 workforce is working everyday and engineers are staying at the site to ensure quality construction. Public leaders are visiting the spot to give moral support to the workers and to pray for the project and the people involved in overseeing the construction.

The Tamenglong people have lost faith on the contractors who have failed repeatedly to complete the work within the stipulated time. The people are also fed up and have lost faith on the implementing agency. Their laggard overseer of the construction and their inefficiency in supervising the work have allowed the contractors to get away with the inexplicable delay in completing the construction even after extending the dateline by another three years and three months.

The abject failure of the concerned public authorities/agencies cannot be condoned. The slow-sloth pace of the construction and the pitiable condition of the structure speak loudly that the integrity of the officials is doubtful. The public authorities and the officials are unanswerable to the people for their abject failure in the performance of their duty. The people are coming out in the open now and the people are asking them what they were doing all these years. Are they hand in glove with the contractors? Are they not responsible for the shoddy implementation of the project?

Healthcare is one of the most basic and crucial requisites of life. This hospital was to be the much-needed critical health infrastructure in our place. In other districts similar projects which started in the same year have been completed and the hospitals are already functioning. How many more years can the people wait? How many more lives should be lost for lack of good healthcare facility in our district? People have even died of easily curable diseases because medical facility was not available nearby.

People have spent more time on highways and roads than in a hygienic medical facility and many have died while on their way to seeking treatment. Most of the people cannot afford to take their sick relatives/friends to Imphal or other towns because of poverty, distance and time. Pregnant women have to walk long distances, upto 70 kilometres in some cases, to reach a healthcare centre.

The TCGD strongly affirm our support to the present District Administration for the corrective administrative action being taken. At the same time we appeal to the public of Tamenglong to speak out against the undesirable elements and those obstructing the developmental works. We also appeal to the people to take cognizance of the failure of the contractor & sub-contractors and failure of the implementing authority/agency.

We also appeal to the national workers and the removed contractor & sub-contractors to not interfere with the construction work being restarted. Completion of the construction without further delay is in public interests. All of us should be agents of progress and development of our place and not be the obstructionists. The larger picture of the people and welfare of the people should always be the first priority.

We appeal the public to extend their full support to the District Administration and to also give moral support.

The Tamenglong Concern Citizens, Guwahati also expressed their solidarity with the decision of the meeting of the TCGD taken in the meeting 10th July, 2017.

Released by:
Tamenglong Concern Group, Delhi