Work agency, State Govt should be blamed for Irang bridge collapse: AITUC

    04-Nov-2020
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IMPHAL, Nov 3
The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Manipur State Council has stated that the concerned work agency and the BJP-led Government should be held responsible for the collapse of the Irang Bridge, the subsequent plunging of a tipper truck into the river and the missing of the truck driver.
The AITUC, in a statement said that the National Highways and Infrastructure Corporation Limited and the BJP-led State Government, should bear all the responsibility for the fateful incident which occurred on November 1.
The promises made by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari to make the highways in Manipur into top class highways have not yet faded from the people's mind, it said while questioning why those words have not been translated yet.
AITUC and CSOs have been proposing to construct new RCC bridges in place of the aged bridges, of which some belong to British era but the State Government is not taking the issue seriously and handing over such works to some self-seeking construction agencies, it charged.
The said Irang Bridge is not even a decade old and how come such a newly constructed bridge snapped, questioned AITUC while urging authorities concerned to probe the matter.
No new news other than snapping of bridge, disconnection of highways due to landslide whenever there is a rain have been doing the round and it shows the pitiable condition of the Imphal-Jiribam and Imphal-Dimapur National Highways, the AITUC said.
Above these sad conditions, drivers and handymen of vehicles plying through these lifelines are subjected  to harassment and assault by militant groups and many have even lost their lives or are remaining disabled, it said. To assist these working class people, the AITUC has been actively working and proposing for an assistance policy but the State Government is ignoring the call.
Considering the pathetic conditions of the road, the Chief Minister should assess and repair the roads at the earliest and launch a welfare scheme or assistance policy for the drivers and handymen with whom the necessities of the State are fulfilled.