ROURKELA: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Thursday said NHAI has issued ‘appointed date’ paving the way for executing agency to immediately start work for construction of the second Brahmani bridge at Rourkela.Oram told mediapersons that it is now the responsibility of the BJD Government to immediately ensure construction of approach roads on both sides of the bridge site for movement of equipment and machineries. Jual also informed that work on upgradation of SAIL’s RSP-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH) is underway at a cost of Rs 10 crore.
The NH-143 expansion contract was bagged by GKC Ltd. As per norms, NHAI was unable to issue the mandatory “appointed date” to the GKC in the absence of Stage-1 forest clearance. NHAI sources said the forest clearance was received on May 4. Earlier, Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari had laid foundation for the bridge on July 21, 2017, but the contract firm could not start work in absence of ‘appointed date’.
The NH-143 expansion from Birmitrapur to Rourkela, including the six-lane second Brahmani bridge over river Brahmani at Balughat of Rourkela city, will be constructed at a cost of `382 crore.Jual was accompanied by former BJP MLA Shankar Oram and BJP’s State executive member Nihar Ray.
Meanwhile, member of Lead Rourkela, a voluntary outfit, accompanied by Odisha BJD secretary AC Mohanty, senior Congress leader Badal Srichandran, Rourkela Bar Association president Satya Sharma and leaders of a few other voluntary groups resorted to unique protest against inordinate delay in construction of Brahmani bridge and upgradation of IGH into Super Speciality Hospital and Medical College (SSHMC) as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They collected soil from IGH campus besides water and sand from Brahmani river, said the leaders and added that the materials would be sent to the Prime Minister through post to remind him of his unkept promises. They also demanded that Modi should clarify the fate of the two projects.
Incidentally, a youth volunteer, Muktikanta Biswal, is undertaking a foot journey to Delhi to remind the
Prime Minister of his two promises. He left Rourkela on April 16.
On the other hand, BJP leader Nihar Ray described Lead Rourkela as the B Team of BJD and said it is a gimmick. He said they can also send water and sand of Koel river and soil of Balughat to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who, after laying foundations, had deliberately dumped the projects for construction of low-height-bridge-cum-barrage on the river and Government Medical College and Hospital and wholesale market yard at Balughat.
