The deadline was set by the Village Authorities of Huishu and Poi village to complete the PMGSY work on a 16-km stretch from Poi to Huishu village bordering Myanmar.
TFM Ukhrul Correspondent
Village Authorities of Huishu and Poi village gave a deadline for the contractor to complete the PMGSY work on a 16-km stretch from Poi to Huishu village bordering Myanmar by March 2021. The work was awarded to contractor SN Pavei with an estimated cost of Rs 618.19 lakh. The work commencement date is March 6 2019 and was to be completed on September 5, 2020 with maintenance for five years.
The village authorities of Huishu and Poi along with a media team from Ukhrul visited the work site on Monday at Huishu and Poi. The two village authorities met at Vaizarang at Huishu, also known as Heizeihru in Poi.
Poi headman AS Mahuiri stated that the stretch of around 2 km only has been covered and that also without laying the granular sub base (GSB) of 200 mm thickness, instead, the contractor has laid 75 mm thickness of WBM. On behalf of the villagers, the headman of Poi earnestly appealed the concerned authorities to look into the matter at the earliest.
Headman of Huishu, Ngazekwung A Shimray stated that Huishu village shares an international boundary with Myanmar, Border Pillar Nos 125, 126 and 127. It is almost two years and the contractor has covered merely 2 km out of the total 16 km. Road construction under PMGSY is being taken up at different places.
“The stretch between Poi and Huishu is the worst among the ongoing constructions. We have been facing a lot of hardships, especially during emergencies. Further, there is no health centre in my village, the nearest PHSC is at Poi village. Whenever there is a health emergency, the villagers face a lot of difficulties,” he lamented.
The two villages while appealing the concerned authorities for immediate intervention have jointly issued an ultimatum that if the said work is not completed by March 2021, they would be compelled to take up another course of action.
The elders of the villages lamented that they were looking forward to travelling by bus but till date, the road remains in a pathetic condition. Without using roller machines, they have strewn the surface with boulders on the existing road.
Interacting with the work in-charge, Joy Kumar who is presently stationed at Huishu village informed that Tombi of Singjangmei, Imphal is the sub-contractor. On enquiring why they have not laid a granular sub base of 200 mm thickness and using only WBM of 75mm thickness, Joy Kumar replied that they would be using GSB of 200 mm in the remaining area. While visiting the work site, this correspondent observed that they have employed only one JCB excavator, one tipper truck and few labourers.
The said stretch of 16 km road between Poi-Huishu as per work specification will have 16 culverts, 15 retaining walls, 14 breast walls and side drainage on the uphill. Granular Sub Base of 200 mm thickness, WBM of 75 mm thickness, bitumen layer of 20 mm thickness with 3.25 m width.