ITANAGAR, 12 Jul: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has relaunched a strategic bridge in Kurung Kumey district in a record one week time, under extremely challenging conditions, officials said.
The Bailey bridge on the Koloriang-Lee-Huri road in the district, bordering the Tibet region of China, was washed away by huge boulders triggered by a major flashflood on 3 July, snapping surface communication on the vital road.
The personnel of Project Arunank under the BRO relaunched the bridge in a record time.
Project Arunank Chief Engineer Anirudh S Kanwar on Tuesday informed that the relaunching of the bridge was “a challenging task posed by tough circumstances, including incessant rains and landslides, for
which innovative techniques were used to overcome all challenges.”
The 119 Road Construction Company (RCC) team under Officer Commanding (OC) Roshan and Platoon Commander Major Mohit worked round the clock for seven days despite heavy rains to restore connectivity by relaunching the bridge, Kanwar said.
“Right from diverting the traffic temporarily through the riverbed, clearing five massive landslide points and making a temporary crossing point over a washed away culvert with heavy flow of slush, for transporting required men, machines and bridging stores to the spot, was carried out,” he said.
The limited space to unload the materials, assemble and launch the bridge was challenging. Loaded vehicles had to move 1 km in reverse gear to dump stores on site. Moreover, a 20-tonne excavator was used as a counterweight of the bridge to overcome limited backspace, the chief engineer informed.
He added that the bridge span had to be increased from 60 ft to 80 ft, and again to 100 ft, during construction, “while a major landslide occurred at the site during work when a few men escaped narrowly with serious injuries.”
“The relaunching of the bridge has brought relief to the people living in remote villages of Damin, Huri and beyond, as well as defence forces heading to the Sino-India border,” said former Kurung Kumey ZPC Sangha Tagik.
“The BRO deserves kudos for speedy relaunching of the bridge under challenging situation,” he said, and urged the BRO to “come to the rescue of border villagers when such situations occur in future.”
Koloriang EAC Ocean Gao also lauded the BRO, particularly the 119 RCC, for restoring the lifeline of the area in a very short time. (PTI)
