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A view of the under-construction Old Dhansiri Bridge in Dimapur.[/caption]
Our Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 5 (EMN): The recent incessant rainfall in Dimapur, which left thousands homeless and saw water-level rise above the ‘danger mark’, especially that of Dhansiri River, has stalled the ongoing construction works at the British colonial bridge located near Urban Haat at Walford in Dimapur.
Urban Development Officer, Pangzangkokba Aier told Eastern Mirror on Tuesday that construction works were stalled due to high water-level; and is set to resume by November 15.
On January 4 this year, an engineer in-charge of the project (who did not wish to be named) told this newspaper that the reconstruction of the bridge was taking time as the workers were facing technical issues to excavate and dismantle the old structure built by the British. Experts from Guwahati were brought in to oversee the technical hitches.
‘The department is targeting to complete the foundation towards Purana Bazaar area by this month (January), said the engineer back then, adding that last year’s unprecedented rain disrupted the construction work. “The piling work towards Urban Haat has been completed while the work towards Purana Bazaar is expected to be done before the onset of monsoon. The major junk of work is the construction of foundation and if that is completed, other construction (activities) will not be an issue,” the engineer had said.
And now, while acknowledging the ‘concern of the public and the traffic problem’, the engineer said that the quality of the bridge cannot be compromised (by completing hastily); and unlike other bridges, ‘the gravity of the work involved is complicated and people need to understand this and have patience while the department targets to complete the work by the end of this year.’
He informed that it would take 45 days to ‘settle the structures’ once the work continues. “The abutment is completed and the bridge is almost completed towards Walford area,” Aier said.
Aier further informed that three pillars and two abutment posts were completed and the contractor as well as the department is waiting for the water-level to recede for work, to continue in ‘full swing’.
He also shared that many other circumstances have slowed down the pace of the work. “The unreliability of labourers is one factor as they are from other neighbouring states; once they go, it is difficult to call them back,” Aier said.
The Old Dhansiri Bridge that connects present-day Purana Bazaar and Supermarket area was built by the British during the pre-independence era. The reconstruction project was proposed in 2008-09 but issues over ownership claimed by the BRO halted it.
Moreover, the cost of the project has escalated over the years. The engineer revealed that the initial budget of the project in 2008 was INR 9.81 crore but an additional amount of INR 3.93 crore was approved in 2016 with the state government assuring to bear it.
It may be mentioned that the construction of RCCT-beam bridge over the Dhansiri River was granted to M/S Aien Enterprises, CL-1 360 NPW, Dimapur, Nagaland. The bridge is stipulated to be completed by March 2020.