AASU stages road blockade over pathetic condition of Bhuban Gogoi (BG) Road in Sivasagar

SIVASAGAR: The pathetic condition of the Bhuban Gogoi (BG) Road connecting Sivasagar-Nazira, has made people of Sivasagar and others who travel through this road suffer. The deplorable condition of this busy road in the heart of Sivasagar town has caused much inconvenience for the people. Aggrieved at the condition of the road and the negligence on the part of the Public Works Department (PWD) regarding the reconstruction and repair of the same, the Sivasagar Regional unit of AASU staged a road blockade on Saturday.

The students’ union had submitted a charter of demands to the District Commissioner on April 30 regarding the long-standing plight of the people travelling on this road due to the pathetic condition of the road and demanding that the construction of the road be completed in a time-bound course of action to provide smooth transport to the people. But even after passing more than 15 days, the Public Works Department has not taken necessary steps to repair or reconstruct the road.

Initiating the protest near ONGC Colony Tinali in Sivasagar town, hundreds of AASU leaders and activists led by Sivasagar Regional Students’ Union advisor and AASU central executive Samiran Phukan, Sivasagar District Students’ Union general secretary Dipankar Saikia, president Manas Pratim Baruah, general secretary Manjit Hazarika blocked the regular plying of all kinds of vehicles through the road for a few hours demanding its immediate construction.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the road during the protest which led to severe traffic snarls, while many of those trapped also took part in the protest.

Later, on behalf of the district administration, executive magistrate Sugata Siddhartha Goswami, executive engineer of PWD (Roads) Sivasagar-Demow Territorial Road Division Anupam Hazarika and delegation of construction contractor arrived at the protest site. Besides promising to immediately repair the road smoothly, it also promised to expedite the reconstruction of the entire road through timely course of action, better drainage system and other arrangements related to construction by the administration.

The protesters lifted the blockade after representatives of the district administration promised to hold a meeting of the Public Works Department, construction contractor’s establishment and AASU next week in the presence of the Sivasagar District Commissioner regarding the entire issue.

District Students’ Union general secretary Dipankar Saikia strongly criticized the failure of the public works department and threatened to hold a lockdown programme at the office of the Public Works Department if action was not taken soon.

AASU leader Samiran Phukan called the public works department a ‘failed department’ and warned not to play with the lives of the people. Phukan also demanded that the contractor firm be forced to complete the construction of the road at the earliest by expediting the departmental work in the construction of the road and also made it clear that AASU would closely monitor the entire process.

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