The protesters, led by ABYSA chief convener Baharul Islam Barbhuiyan, brought out a rally in the town and the members reached the area office of ABCI Infrastructures, which is responsible for construction of a major part of the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge conversion project (Migrendisa-Ditekcherra) and some of the tunnels, besides the repair of NH-44, the Silchar-Haflong road and the Silchar-Kalain road. The protesters sought commitment from the authorities to ensure early completion of the projects undertaken by it.
"The portion of the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge project undertaken by the said company is marred by extraordinary delay and poor quality of work. Because of the company, the execution of the much-delayed national project may again fail the deadline of December 2013. There are a lot of complaints from the local people about the poor quality of work in the ongoing repair of NH-44, which too is being carried out by ABCI. The same is true for the repairs of the Silchar-Haflong road and the Silchar-Kalain road. The work on the Silchar-Haflong road has been stopped for unknown reasons," said the ABYSA chief.
He said their organization has been spearheading the agitation for smooth and timely completion of all the ongoing rail and road projects in southern Assam and adjoining states, including Lumding-Silchar broad gauge and East-West Corridor. "But it's sad that the response of the government and the authorities is lukewarm," said Barbhuiyan.
The agitation on Thursday ended only when the authorities of ABCI Infrastructures made an assurance that they would execute the projects in question in a timely and smooth manner. The ABYSA said the 221-km broad gauge conversion project under NF Railway, which was declared as a national project, has registered little progress over nearly 15 years. According to NFR, only 50% of work for the project, the foundation for which was laid in 1996, has been completed so far.
"We doubt that the fate of the project, which is considered as a lifeline for the area, including Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and southern Assam, hangs in balance due to the indifferent attitude of the government," alleged the ABYSA.
The ABCI manager, Swaroop Dutta, said the progress of the project was slow due to bad weather condition during the rains. But things are speeding up now as the weather has improved, he added. He said he hoped to complete the work within the stipulated time of December 2013.