OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has reconstructed a strategic bridge in the Kurung Kumey district of Arunachal Pradesh in a record one week's time, under extremely challenging conditions.
The Bailey Bridge on Koloriang-Lee-Huri road in the district, bordering the Tibet region of China, was washed away by huge boulders triggered by a major flash flood on July 3 last, snapping surface communication in the vital road.
Personnel of Project Arunank under the BRO reconstructed the bridge in record time.
Project Arunank chief engineer Anirudh S Kanwar on Tuesday informed that the re-launching of the bridge was a challenging task posed by tough circumstances, including incessant rains and landslides for which innovative techniques were used to overcome all challenges.
The 119 Road Construction Company (RCC) team under Officer Commanding (OC) Roshan and Platoon Commander Major Mohit, worked round the clock for seven days despite heavy rains to restore connectivity by re-launching the bridge, Kanwar said.
Right from diverting the traffic temporarily through the river bed, clearing five massive landslide points and making a temporary crossing point over a washed away culvert with heavy flow of slush, for transporting required men, machines and bridging stores to the spot, was carried out, he said.
"The limited space to unload the materials, assemble and launch the bridge was challenging for which loaded vehicles had to move 1-km in reverse gear to dump stores on site. Moreover, a 20-ton excavator was used as counter weight of the bridge to overcome limited backspace," the chief engineer informed.
He added that the bridge span had to be increased from 60-ft to 80-ft and again to 100 ft during construction, while major landslide occurred at the site during work when a few men escaped narrowly with serious injuries.
Repair of the bridge, which is a lifeline, brought much relief to people living in remote villages of Damin, Huri and beyond as well as Defence forces heading to Indo-China border, said former Kurung Kumey ZPC Sangha Tagik
The BRO deserves kudos for speedy re-launching of the bridge under challenging situation, he said, and urged them to come to the rescue of border villagers when such situations occur in future.
Koloriang extra assistant commissioner (EAC) Ocean Gao also lauded the BRO, particularly 119 RCC, for restoring the lifeline of the area in a very short time.
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