Railway works
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 31 2019:
Progress of Imphal-Jiribam railway works have decelerated to the minimum level during the last two years, sources said.
Many observers said that there has been no monitoring and persuasion for acceleration of the project from the Northern Frontier Railway.
The target to commission the railway line up to Tupul by 2019 remains a distant dream at the moment.
Even though there are cases of not completing contract works related to the railway project which were awarded 7-8 years back, the authority concerned has not taken up any action till date against the contractors concerned, said a source.
Construction of major railway bridges has been completed by only 30 to 40 per cent.
Notably, Jiribam-Imphal railway line has a bridge which would be the highest railway bridge in Asia.
Sources said that the contractors have slowed down or halted contract works related to the railway project during the past two months as the authorities have not been paying their liabilities.
On the other hand, the State Government seems to be paying little attention towards early completion of the Jiribam-Imphal railway project, said the source.
Given the fact that the target for completion of the railway project has been deferred several times, the situation demands immediate intervention of the State Government, added the source.
The State Government need to take up the matter with the railways authority and the Central Government and ensure that pending liabilities of contractors are released at their earliest and the pace of executing the project is accelerated to the desired level, said the sources.
If the project goes on at the present pace, it would be hard to complete the project by 2021 which is the latest extended deadline, the sources added.