First it was the Governor and within a day’s gap it was the Deputy Chief Minister who raised concern on the delay of progress of construction of the Miao-Vijoynagar road. There are solid reasons for this concern as the chief intention of this project which is to efface the solitude of the people of Vijoynagar, an unmistakable and unfortunate feature since decades will hardly be fulfilled if the current snail’s pace persists. It has already emerged as a major prestige issue for the state as the whole nation is now knowledgeable about the plight of the people of the place, thanks to wide media coverage. One can recall the 2019 pre-poll days of general elections when the whole country watched in utter disbelief the news-clippings which mirrored Vijoynagar’s woes- absence of roads compelling polling personnel to get airlifted by IAF choppers to deliver election duties. It has been hard to believe for most of those who came to know about the ‘fact’, but it’s true to the core. The deadline for total completion has been fixed as December 2021 which means just a little less than a year from now. But until the current speed is replaced by an accelerated one, it’s well-nigh impossible to reach the target.

Focusing on the current scenario, out of the total length of 157 km of the road which is now a PMGSY initiative and of its in five parts only two portions i.e. Part I (12.50 km) and Part II (14.50 km) have been completed as of now and Part III (34 km) and IV (80 km) are in progress and works for Part V are yet to be started. From simple arithmetic it can be found that uncertainty actually exists regarding the 130 km unfinished portion of the road which in terms of percentage is more than 80 %. Meanwhile, the executing agencies continue to cite the main causes of delay as difficult terrain coupled with landslides, marshy lands, unfavourable climatic conditions and short duration of working period. Watching all these, a tax paying citizen will surely ask- aren’t they (executing agencies) aware of these challenges prior to taking the assignment and how long the old tales will get repeated? Not only for the Miao-Vijoynagar road, this seems to be the general feature when it comes to execution of projects, irrespective of the kind in the state. Adding to it there is the evolving culture of conveniently extending the deadlines, which invariably keep adding. For more than four decades, the Vijoynagar people have been dreaming of having a road which will free them from the isolation that has been thrust upon.

A further extension of the deadline will mean a failure for the state. Time to take a serious note of it.  

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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