Digboi: While the ongoing Digboi-Duliajan road project has allegedly experienced regular accidents, serious concerns have been raised regarding the timely completion of the 40-kilometer-long Digboi-Pengaree-Bordumsa-Mohong road project, executed by PWD under Assam Mala 2 for the year 2023-2024 in Tinsukia district.
The snail-paced progress of the project, marked by frequent halts in the work, has become a cause of public inconvenience and poses risks to traffic due to incomplete culverts and vulnerable road diversions with poor safety measures.
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Notably, after assuming office recently, Bikash Chandra Pangging, the incumbent Additional Chief Engineer of PWD Roads (Eastern Zone), along with his team, visited various project sites under the division to inspect the actual physical progress of the work.
According to department sources, of the 40-kilometer project, the 20-kilometer stretch between Mohong-Bordumsa-Pengaree has progressed considerably compared to the 20 kilometers of the Pengaree-Digboi portion, which has posed serious challenges.
Significantly, the Mohong-Bordumsa-Pengaree portion, awarded to Lalon Moran, a joint partnership with Purvanchal Building Pvt Limited, has reportedly achieved more than 30 percent physical progress, while Moran’s co-contractor based in Guwahati has completed just around 13 percent.
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Meanwhile, during a recent review meeting at the Dibrugarh PWD Divisional Office, department officials directed contractors from various jurisdictions to accelerate progress and improve their status before the Chief Minister’s review meeting, tentatively scheduled for August 20.
The review covered several Legislative Assembly constituencies, including Digboi, Makum, and Tinsukia.
When asked about the feasibility of completing and delivering the project on time by December 2025, one of the partner contractors of the joint venture lamented that the sudden termination of zero Transit Pass (TP) privileges, allegedly by the Forest Department, had delayed the timely procurement of raw materials, leading to significant stagnation.
The frequent accidents underscore that unsafe diversions and incomplete works are not merely inconvenient; they endanger lives, disrupt services, and jeopardize public health and livelihoods.
Unmarked, sharp, and poorly visible diversions; blocked or incomplete structures; impassable areas; stalled renovation work; and inadequate signage may lead to major road mishaps, like the Tinsukia-Dibrugarh bypass accident in November 2024 that killed four members of a family, and the Golaghat tragedy in January 2024, claiming 12 lives.