Workshop on road construction : Biswajit acknowledges media's role
Source: The Sangai Express / DlPR

Imphal, February 26 2018: Works Minister Thongam Biswajit Singh today said that the Public Works Department should engage some officials as media coordinators to provide technical clarifications to the media and improve communications between the department and the public.

Biswajit was speaking at the inaugural function of a two-day workshop on Quality Control in Road Construction and Preparation of DPR for Roads and Bridges at the Hotel Classic here.

He said that lack of communication between the department and the general public is a matter of serious concern.

The media coordinators will help in not only improving communication with the public but also provide technical clarifications to the media.

The Minister also dwelt at length on the various issues which affect road quality.

He said site engineers, contractors and labourers have major responsibilities in controlling quality of road constructions.

Construction material and proper preparation of DPR are also required for quality control, he said and added that it is also a responsibility of the engineer to extract good work from a contractor.

Any conflict between the engineers and contractors will affect quality control, he said.

The Minister also spoke about complaints regarding road construction works raised through social media and published by the local media.

He said that it is the duty of the media to publish complaints.

Engineers should ensure that proper quality is maintained in all construction works and they must investigate why bitumen layers break apart not long after they are laid and do the needful, Biswajit directed.

While some MLAs/Ministers do not want to repair/construct roads at the places where they did not get votes, some others are more interested in repairing/constructing roads where they got little votes, he said.

Stating that the Government acknowledges media's role in making the Government aware of public grievances, he added that it is also the duty of the media to highlight what the Government is planning and what welfare steps have been taken up so far.

He also explained that loose soil, lack of proper drainage, quality of stone chips etc affect the quality of roads.

Biswajit expressed the need to acquire new equipment and machinery for road construction for the department and to install hot mix Plants in all districts.

Proper survey is also required to maintain quality in road construction, he said.

Biswajit sought support from the elected representatives in checking the progress and quality of the developmental works undertaken in their respective constituencies.

In his welcome address, PWD Chief Engineer KhTemba Singh explained the co-relation between good road conditions and the country's economic development.

He said that a good road network helps in improving economic growth.

He further explained that consistency in road quality throughout the entire stretch is desirable as a bad road stretch can degrade the entire road stretch.

The Chief Engineer further explained various other factors which affect road conditions in the State.

The inaugural function was also attended by Chief Engineer (Building) N Noren, Project Director, EAP, PWD, Manipur Y Joykumar Singh, other officials and staff of the department.

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