Sarimul Haque Laskar, Silchar:-The Assam government’s much-publicised claim of a “development wave” sweeping across the state has suffered a major setback after an under-construction bridge collapsed in the Barakhala Assembly constituency.
On Friday afternoon, around 12 noon, the middle structure of the Purandarpur-Badarpur connecting bridge over the Jatinga River suddenly gave way and collapsed. The incident has caused widespread concern and commotion in the area.
Locals said that a portion of the bridge suddenly caved into the river. Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the incident. However, the collapse of the bridge during the construction phase has sparked strong anger and apprehension among the people.
A local resident alleged that the use of substandard materials, poor quality workmanship, and unscientific construction methods led to the collapse. He warned that if such practices continue, other parts of the bridge could also collapse at any moment.
On the other hand, workers engaged in the project claimed that the quality of the work was maintained properly and no compromise had been made with the standards.
This is not an isolated incident. According to sources, two other bridges in the Barakhal area have also collapsed recently, though the authenticity of these reports could not be independently confirmed.
Incidents of bridges collapsing while under construction have been recurring in Assam. Similar complaints have emerged from districts like Dima Hasao and Morigaon. Questions are now being raised on why projects worth lakhs and crores of rupees are shown as completed on paper but fail to stand in reality.
Locals allege that due to the prevailing commission culture in construction works, contractors are using inferior materials. Serious questions are being asked about where the public’s money is actually going, which contracting companies are repeatedly awarded such substandard projects, and who is providing them protection.
Local residents have drawn the attention of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the concerned departmental authorities. It remains to be seen what effective steps the government takes regarding this incident.
People are keenly watching whether the government will form an inquiry committee and take strict action against the guilty contractors and officials, blacklist the contracting firms involved in poor quality work, or simply try to suppress the matter by issuing routine statements.
It is the primary responsibility of the government to ensure that infrastructure built with public funds remains safe for the people. If there is truly a wave of development, the people want answers for the bridges that are collapsing in that very wave.
The coming days will show what concrete action the government takes.
