Footbridge lifts, LED display remain wasted
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, May 23 2022:
Though the state PWD attached lifts to the footbridges constructed at four different locations and installed LED display to show useful and important information from time to time, these infrastructures remain wasted without serving any of intended purposes.
The Public Works Department (PWD) submitted a Rs 18.47 crore proposal for a project called 'Road Safety Works through Improvement of Junctions, Footpath, Road Signage and Markings, and Construction of Footbridges' to the union ministry of road transport and highways in 2019.Out of the total amount, Rs 2.40 crore was meant for construction of four footbridges at different locations.
The work was awarded to Bengaluru-based Sanjay Infra Private Limited.
The agency manufactured the steel fabricated super structure in a Pune-based firm and assembled the footbridges near Kangla Gate, BT Road, Keishampat junction and Imphal College.
Later, lifts were added to the footbridges to facilitate movement for elderly and differently abled people.
However, the lifts are not functioning till date.
There seems to be no clear cut policy regarding assignment of lift operators as not everybody can operate the lift.
Besides, there is no provision for immediate assistance in case of the lift getting stuck in the mid in case of power outage or technical fault.
On the other hand, several LED displays were installed on the road medians to show useful information.
These displays have a size of around one square metre each, which makes it rather congested to show information to commuters.
Due to small size of the displays, the information is shown in small font sizemaking it invisible, thus rendering them technically useless.
Many are of the opinion that the department is wasting public money by installing such ineffective infrastructures.