Brahmagiri residents irked with delay in bridge construction

Puri: The delay in completion of the bridge construction work at Bramhagiri has irked residents of the area.

"It has been five years since the construction work began and all one can see is two incomplete pillars," rued Jasobant Meher, a villager. The project is aimed at connecting Balikera and Tinikuda and make commutation easier for locals of both the regions.

Locals blamed the district administration and the contractual company for the snail paced work. A tender worth Rs 4.82 crore was floated under the Biju Setu Yojana according to which the construction work was to be completed by January 2017.

"The construction work of the bridge has been irregular. Sometimes there are people working for 2 months and then there is no work at all for the next four months," says Tinikuda resident Rabi Narayan Jena.

Balikera resident Sudhakar Naik blamed the administration and contractors for the difficulties.

"The bridge was supposed to be completed in 1.5 years, however, 5 years have passed and the project remains incomplete," Naik said.

On the other hand, a contractual company worker blamed the administration for the delay saying that they were not allowed to carry out the work.

"All construction materials have been delivered but we are not being allowed to start the work," said company staff Sushant Kumar Barik.

However, Executive engineer of Rural Development Department, Panchanan Mohanty assured that the construction work will end by December end.

"We have instructed the contractors to speed up the work and are expecting it to be completed by December 2018," said Mohanty.