Guwahati: Minister Ashok Singhal finally realizes trouble caused to people

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Finally, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Ashok Singhal has realized the folly of indiscriminately digging ditches for laying water supply pipes here and there, causing inconvenience to the people at large. He has now asked contractors to proceed with pipe-laying activities only after discussing the matter with local residents.

Minister Ashok Singhal today held a meeting with officials and contractors regarding the implementation of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) schemes. This scheme is being implemented in different towns across the state. In the meeting, the Minister stressed the completion of restoration works, after digging ditches to lay water supply pipes, to be completed within ten days. He also directed them not to dig ditches in the rainy season and to carry out such activities only in the winter.

Haphazard digging of ditches on roads and incomplete restoration work have become a public menace and the cause of many accidents. 

The situation is bad enough in other towns of the state, but even worse in Guwahati. Different agencies are engaged in a competition to dig ditches for infrastructure work like water supply, gas pipes, telecom cables, etc. Such work is going on each and every road in Guwahati, but the restoration work is not being done. In many places, ditches are covered up by filling with earth, and this is washed away during the rains, creating a chaotic situation as people try to navigate through them.

Last year, the state government mooted creating a parental agency, which will have to be consulted by any agency planning to dig ditches and do so only according to the guidelines of such an agency, but nothing has emerged of the decision so far. Ashok Singhal is also the minister of the development of Guwahati, and it is high time he started paying attention to the suffering of the city’s denizens. He should at least ensure that the restoration work is done in a permanent way within a certain timeframe, which should not exceed a maximum of ten days.

Under the AMRUT I and II schemes, water supply works are underway in the towns of Nagaon, Silchar, and Dibrugarh. Under AMRUT II, a total of 24 towns have been selected for water supply schemes, with work orders already issued in 13 towns. The Housing and Urban Affairs Minister today instructed the managing director of AMRUT to develop a detailed SOP for contractors to streamline project execution and ensure adherence to quality standards.

Also Read: Waterlogging, unmarked open drains pose threat in Guwahati city (sentinelassam.com)

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