Bhubaneswar/Malkangiri: Barely a week ago when Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted a picture of Gurupriya Bridge, it brought cheers to people of the cut-off areas of Malkangiri district as they thought that the much awaited bridge would be inaugurated soon.
However, uncertainty still looms large over the inauguration of the bridge that will act as lifeline for people in the cut-off areas of the district.
It is believed that protest call by Odisha Congress and pending third-party inspection of the bridge is coming in the way of the ruling-BJD government to fix a date for inauguration.
Congress' Warning to CM Naveen
The Malkangiri district unit of Congress has announced to oppose CM Naveen's visit to the district during inauguration of the bridge.
Demanding fulfilment of a five-point charter of demands, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) working president, Pradeep Majhi said that the CM will not be allowed to inaugurate the bridge until basic issues of the people in the district are addressed.
"It's a warning that the CM will not be allowed to enter Malkangiri if all our demands are not fulfilled," said Majhi.
Pending Third-Party Inspection
It is worth mentioning that portions of the bridge had collapsed several times in the past. This prompted the government to order for a third-party inspection of the construction work.
However, the security inspection process is yet to be completed.
Meanwhile, Design Engineer of Gurupriya Bridge, N C Pal said that the final testing work of the bridge has begun and it will be completed in the next few days.
Works Minister Prafulla Mallik on the other hand said, the construction work of the bridge is already completed and the bridge will be inaugurated in July.
"Once the date is finalised by CM Naveen Patnaik, the bridge will be inaugurated," he added.