By Pradeep Kumar
NAHARLAGUN, Mar 21: The reconstruction of totally dilapidated 430-feet long X10-feet wide bailey bridge over Subansiri River at the entry point of Upper Subansiri district headquarters Daporijo that connects Silapathar of Assam has begun with commitment by Project Arunank of Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
The totally rusted bridge under the state public works department (PWD) has been posing serious risk to the commuters. Thus realizing the seriousness, the BRO committed to the welfare of the people had drawn attention of state Chief Minister Pema Khandu and on his desire had taken it over from the PWD recently; BRO sources here told this daily on Saturday.
As road communication holds key to development of this land-locked state, the BRO staff engaged in dismantling the bridge now have been facing tough time as collapse of any portion cannot be ruled out, the source said, adding they have been working with completion deadline of a month. Once complete, it would facilitate heavy vehicular movement giving a new thrust to socio-economic development of the district.
It may be recalled here that in the wee hours of July 1992 this bridge had collapsed when a night super bus carrying 56 passengers from Silapathar had fallen into Subansiri River while approaching Daporijo. Nothing except bag of a school student was found and the state government had called in Navy divers who had also failed to recover anything even not a trace of the bus indicating the ferocity of the river that meanders through the entire length of the district.
An employee of BRO who was travelling in another night super bus had later informed that the bus had overtaken his bus a kilometer ahead. But a thud sound was heard when the bridge had collapsed for the driver to halt his bus with a jerk nothing was visible ahead as it was heavily raining then.
This voluntary approach by Project Arunank authorities to rebuild a junk bridge reflects patriotic spirit of the BRO, founded on 7 May, 1960 under Army Act, 1950 and Army Rules, 1954 to develop infrastructure in remote areas of North-East states, including sensitive Arunachal Pradesh to secure India’s borders.
Though McMahon Line demarcates Indian border with China in Arunachal Pradesh, but the neighbouring nation oft-repeatedly claims territory of Arunachal Pradesh which shares international Indian borders with Bhutan in the west, Myanmar in the east, and China in the north.
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