GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma feels that ‘playing truant’ by engineers in the construction of roads and buildings in the state leads to their shorter durability.
Distributing appointment letters to 266 junior engineers in the PWD, the Chief Minister said, “I have observed that the roads in Assam get damaged early or water gets accumulated in the middle of roads. One of the reasons behind this, as I feel, is the engineers not visiting the sites at the time of construction. The engineers rely solely on contractors who get work done with some unskilled ’mistry’ (masons). This practice leads to the damage of roads within two or three years of their construction. This erodes the faith of the public in the department.”
Appealing to the engineers, CM Sarma further said, “You need to apply your technical know-how on the field. Be present at sites during the construction of roads and supervise the work. Instead of being contractor-centric, stop relying solely on contractors. You need to do your duty with utmost sincerity, as the construction of one kilometre of road in Assam costs around Rs 1.50 crore. If such a road gets damaged early, that drains out crores of rupees from the state exchequer, and that will prevent the government from constructing roads in far-flung rural areas.”
He added, “The situation is no different in the construction of government buildings. Cracks become visible after a year of construction on a government building. Such shoddy constructions happen when engineers do not check the ratio of cement and sand, the proper fitting of rods, and the like. I appeal to you to use your technical knowledge on the field properly, and that will lead to quality work.”
Distributing appointment letters to 812 staff nurses, the Chief Minister said, “Always wear a smile on your face while interacting with patients, as that helps them get healed. However, I have seen that nurses in government hospitals often have serious looks etched on their faces. I have observed that the number of children born with cerebral palsy has been rising in Assam due to doctors and nurses not properly following the protocols meant for them at the time of delivery. You need to remain alert when following such protocols. Only the increase in institutional delivery will not work; there should be quality institutional delivery in government hospitals.”
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