POMA, 5 Feb: The All Papum Poma Students’ Union (APPSU) on Thursday enforced a 12-hour bandh, protesting the alleged delay in construction of six sanctioned bridges on the Itanagar-Jote road.
As part of the first phase of the bandh, the stretch of the state highway from Gohpur Tinali-Itanagar to NIT Jote remained completely closed within the jurisdiction of the Papum Poma administrative block, from Moin Hapa to NIT Jote.
The APPSU stated that the bandh was called due to the continued inaction of the public works department (PWD), Doimukh division, despite repeated representations highlighting the poor condition of the road and the urgent requirement for bridge construction on the vital Itanagar-Jote stretch. The union asserted that the prolonged delay has severely affected daily commuters, students, and residents of the area.
In its charter of demands, the APPSU called for immediate initiation of an open and competitive tender process for the construction of all six sanctioned bridges on the Itanagar-Jote road. The union further demanded that the projects be awarded strictly through a fair and transparent procedure in accordance with the CPWD works manual, Central Vigilance Commission guidelines, general financial rules, and detailed project and financial reports.
The student body also demanded strict action against officers and officials responsible for the prolonged delay in the tendering process and execution of the bridge projects. The APPSU pointed out that, despite the completion of 13 months since the sanctioning of the projects, no tender has been floated so far. It further alleged that two out of the six bridges have already been completed without any tender process, raising serious questions regarding procedural violations.
The APPSU also stated that no representative from the department concerned turned up during the bandh to address the grievance of the protesters.
Warning of further agitation, the union stated that it would intensify its democratic movement across all administrative blocks under the Papum Poma jurisdiction if the department concerned fails to address their demands within the next 12 days.
During the bandh, all shops, fuel stations and educational institutions -including Jarbom Gamlin Government Law College, NIT Jote, FTII Jote, and the circle office – remained closed.
The general public extended support to the APPSU-led bandh.
The students’ union of Jarbom Gamlin Government Law College also joined the protest, and stated that students face severe difficulties during the summer due to frequent landslides along the road.
No untoward incident was reported during the 12-hour bandh.
