[ Nellie Manpoong ]
ITANAGAR, Aug 21: TK Engineering & Consortium Pvt Ltd has assured to resume work on the national highway here from the first week of September.
The assurance comes nearly two months after it had said that the DBM (dense bitumen macadam) or black-top layering of the four-lane highway from Indira Gandhi Park to the secretariat area would begin within the month of June.
Speaking to this daily, one of the directors of TK Engineering, Techi Tara, informed that while the agency had assured to start black-top layering, the monsoon rains had begun and there was little they could do to resume work.
“Even after the rains receded after July, the inconsistent weather pattern has made it difficult to begin the work. If it’s sunny in the day, it begins to rain by night or vice-versa,” Tara said, and clarified that there has been no deliberate hold-up in the construction of the four-lane highway.
He also rubbished reports that there were fund constraints, saying there are no issues regarding funds.
A review meeting was also held very recently with the public works department (PWD) chief engineer to gear up for the work in September.
Tara said the agency had opened up several fronts by formation-cutting on the directions of the department and the administration, so that the work could be completed on time, “but the monsoon caused several landslides and has created additional hindrances.”
He said the un-layered road from IG Park to the secretariat would be worked on when the work begins in September, adding that similar work would be carried out on the Akashdeep Chandranagar stretch of the road.
“Work on the two bridges, located near the fuel depot at the end of Chandranagar and near Gyan Ganga School, will also begin, provided there is no hindrance, as there are reports that there is litigation,” he said.
Regarding the degrading condition of the road, Tara said, “We used wet mixed macadam (WMM) to correct some portions of the road that had eroded due to wear and tear and the subsequent monsoon rains. We will continue with the correction and re-do the roadbed when the weather is more favourable.”
On why some portions of the highway have been left un-layered and only with roadbeds, Tara said, “We have worked wherever there was an available working front.
The utility departments have to move the obstructions for us to begin work in those places.”
TK Engineering & Consortium is the engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) contractor of the four-lane highway (10.50 km Package-A, Chandranagar to Papu Nallah).
Working under the supervision of the state PWD, TK Engineering has to officially complete the project by its target time of September 2020. However, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein has sought completion of the Rs 196.19 crore project by March 2019.
The eviction drive for the four-lane construction began in August 2017, and the construction work was given the official flag-off in September 2017 by the DCM. However, major works began to take shape only in November 2017.
