Assam Govt to Consult IIT- G on Quality, Risk Assessment of Guwahati- North Guwahati Bridge

GUWAHATI: The Assam government is mulling over a plan to utilise the expertise of IIT- Guwahati for conducting a quality audit and assessment of risk management of the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge, which is being constructed in the city over the Brahmaputra river.

This step has been taken keeping in mind the fact that the agency which is building the six- lane Guwahati- North Guwahati bridge, was entrusted with the construction of the bridge in Bihar that collapsed on June 4.

The bridge between Sultanganj and Aguani is being constructed with an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore over the Ganga in Bihar and it suddenly collapsed, putting a question mark over the quality of the work.

The Sultanganj-Aguani bridge in Bihar was being constructed by SP Singla Constructions Private Limited, the same firm which has also been constructing the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge and has won the contract to construct another bridge over the Brahmaputra at Jogighopa in the state.

The decision for undertaking risk assessment was taken after Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the bridge construction site on Sunday and took stock of the project’s progress. The bridge is slated to be completed by August next year.

CM Sarma has asked the officials of the public works department (PWD) to proceed for a consultation with IIT Guwahati and utilise their expertise to undertake a risk management assessment of the ongoing project so that high standards of construction are maintained.

The Assam CM said, “In view of the recent bridge collapse in Bihar, we are taking extra efforts to ensure that no such incident takes place here in Assam. Therefore, a quality audit will be done by roping in an IIT.”

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also informed that almost 73% of the construction work has been completed till now and the bridge will be ready by next year.

The budget outlay for the bridge project was estimated at Rs 2600 crore, of which a sum of Rs 1900 crore has already been spent on the construction work of this important bridge which will cut down on the distance and time to reach North Guwahati from the city.

In August 2019, the construction of the six-lane bridge of Guwahati and North Guwahati was started and the deadline for its completion is August, 2024.

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