Of crumbling bridges and retaining walls
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: July 16, 2012 -

The portion of Kiyamgei Pal Ahanbi bridge which has been caved in :: Pix - Hueiyen Lanpao

Retaining walls crumbling down within a year of construction, grasses growing over newly black-topped roads or collapsing down of newly constructed bridges, etc, have become the hallmark of developmental works taken up in Manipur.

So, the anger of local residents over caving in of a yet to be inaugurated RCC bridge constructed over Kiyamgei Pal Ahanbi as part of the larger multi-crore Leishang Hiden Project on July 14 and their subsequent decision to impose restriction on further construction work on the project is apprehensible.

Though the exact cause of the collapse of the bridge is yet to be ascertained 'officially', local residents have made it more than evidently clear that it was due to lack quality control and maintenance.

They have alleged that the authorities concerned did not pay attention to their complaint over lack of quality maintenance in the execution of the work right from commencement of the construction work.

As a consequence, in addition to caving in of the bridge measuring just 30 x 7 metres (without footpath) over a distance of 6 feet, the pillars of the bridge are also said to be already in need of repairing.

It has also come to light that the said bridge was constructed in a rather hasty manner within one year and although it is yet to be inaugurated, the bridge was thrown open to public use since the beginning of current year on account its crucial link to National Highway-2 (Imphal-Moreh road) for the people of Kiyamgei and its surrounding areas.

Although Works Minister Dr Kh Ratankumar, who responded swiftly and conducted a spot inspection, has assured that a departmental inquiry would be conducted to find out the reason behind collapsing of the bridge and befitting action would be taken up against all those found guilty, one can easily conclude why the bridge has collapsed without any stretch of imagination.

Given the track record of lack of quality maintenance in the execution of most developmental works in the state where 'percentage sharing' is a norm rather than exception, the opinions expressed from some quarters that the bridge may have caved in on account of the earth work being carried out for construction of retaining wall of Leishang Hiden Project may find no taker.

Since this incident is not the first nor it is going to be the last, it is high time for the state government and its department concerned to think of putting in place a mechanism for proper quality control of developmental works under execution without waiting for any eventuality that invariably leads to nothing but a game of witch-hunting.

Here, we may take a leaf out from the experiences of other developed states like Andhra Pradesh where strict quality control drive has paid rich dividends not only in terms of saving public fund from unnecessary wastage but also in enhancing transparency through public scrutiny of the works executed, thereby instilling fear among the contractors and engineers.

Until such a mechanism for quality control is in place, collapse of bridges, retaining walls, or grasses growing on newly tarred roads would continue to remain a harsh reality in Manipur, and no amount of departmental inquiries would help in wiping off public skepticism over any developmental works taken up by the government.