Joint body draws CM’s attention over poor road repair work

IMPHAL, Oct 28
The joint body of Khoupum Area Villages Authority Council (KAVAC), Rongmei Luh Phuam, Khoupum Area (RLPKA) and Zeliangrong Students' Union, Khoupum Area (ZSUKA) has drawn the attention of the Chief Minister towards the “sluggish and non-adherence to the guidelines for maintaining work quality” with regard to the road construction work from Zoujangtek to Rengpang segment.
In a joint press statement signed by Athon Remei, chairman of KAVAC; Jangthuilung Rongmei, convenor, ZSUKA; and Gaisingongliu, president, RLPKA; said that the historically famed Tongjei Maril road (Old Cachar Road) which was in a very deplorable condition for decades got a face-lift when the NEC approved and sanctioned for construction of all weather road from Zoujangtek to Rengpang (NH-37) which is about 72 kms in length. The construction work was started in the year 2014 with Keystone Company as work agency.
“We were highly elated that the Keystone Company will adhere to the guidelines and maintain quality. However, we are greatly dismay at the poor work quality, the testimony of which can be seen from the finished portion of the said road as many potholes have started to appear and the tarred (black topping) started to come off within few months,” the statement said.  
“We have registered our complaints in this regard to the implementing agency for maintaining work quality but the concerned authority turned a deaf ear to the voice of the people,” it said.
“As our pleas and appeals go unheard, we are left with no other option than to draw the attention of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Manipur for immediate intervention by taking up the matter with the concerned work agency to maintain work quality and also to repair wherever damages and cracks develop in the entire stretch of the road,” it said.
If the work agency and the concerned authority fail to redress their grievances or if their demands go unheard, they said they will be compelled to resort to various forms of democratic agitation by the end of the 1st week of November, 2020.