Sub-standard construction of Wahong-Soraphung PMGSY road decried
RKL, NRSU take strong exception
Source: The Sangai Express / Mungchan Zimik

Ukhrul, July 19 2024: The Raphei Katamnao Long (RKL) and Northern Raphei Students Union (NRSU) have expressed concern over the shoddy construction of the PMGSY road from Wahong to Soraphung Village in Ukhrul district.

The road being constructed under package no 9151 of phase XI of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) unfortunately did not meet the prescribed quality benchmarks, stated Pomi who is the president of RKL.

He also said that the two villages (Wahong and Soraphung) have lodged a complaint to the Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Minister over the issue.

In this connection, a press conference was held at the office of RKL at Wino Bazar, Ukhrul.

Sub-standard construction of Wahong-Soraphung PMGSY road decried

Addressing the media, Pomi continued that a team of RKL, NRSU, and village authorities of both Wahong and Soraphung village have inspected the progress of the road construction and what they found was disappointing.

According to him, the construction of PMGSY from Kharasom village to Soraphung via Wahong spanning a distance of 15 kms shows no progress although the project began in 2019 and had to be completed in 2020 .

The road construction project was awarded to SN Pavei at an estimated cost of Rs 5.28 crore but the delay in the completion of the work has caused immense hardship to the transporters and villagers throughout the year, he said.

Meanwhile, chairman of Soraphung village Meliba Lasuh stated that the work agency (SN Pavei) did not follow the PMGSY guidelines while constructing road pavements.

According to him, no granular sub-base and WBM were laid for blacktopping while bituminous layers were laid in some portions only.

Saying that the construction of retaining wall, breast wall and culverts is also yet to begin, the village chairman added that no discernible action has been taken to address all these issues.

The sub par execution of the work by SN Pavei is disconcerting, he said.

The RKL and NRSU have now joined hands with the border villages of Ukhrul district to demand expeditious completion of the road construction without compromising the quality.

It is reported that RKL will monitor the progress and execution of the road project.