Biswajit assures completion of footbridges before Sangai Fest

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Oct 8: Works Minister Thongam Biswajit has assured that the construction on the footbridges at the back of Kangla Lanban and Bir Tikendrajit Road, will be completed before the Sangai Festival begins.
The RD&PR and IPR Minister made the statement during an inspection trip of the steel superstructure of the foot bridge behind Kangla Lanban today.
Work was continuing till late into the evening today and Chief Minister N Biren also visited the work site and inspected the work under progress
Biswajit said that aside from the two foot bridges, another one is under construction at Keishampat bringing the total number of such structure to three and added that all three bridges are stipulated to be completed by December this year.
He continued that the construction works are underway in full swing at the foot bridges at Kangla and BT road so as to complete them before Manipur Sangai Festival, especially in light of the  numerous tourists who will be visiting the State during the said festival.
However, the construction of the bridge at Keishampat was delayed due to some dispute. But it is being planned for completion by December, the Minister added.
Pointing out that road blocks were set up for installing the super structure, Biswajit explained that the work had to be done during the daytime as the structures needed proper alignment and apologised to the people for the brief inconvenience caused due to the road block.
It may be mentioned that the three foot bridges are being constructed under the work proposal 'Road safety works through improvement of junctions, footpath, road signage and marking and construction of foot bridge', submitted by PWD Manipur to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). The total costs of the project is around Rs 18.47 crore out of which around Rs 2.40 crore is for the foot bridges.
The construction works are being handled by Bengaluru based Sanjay Infra Pvt Ltd.
The foundation of the foot bridge which will connect the footpath of Kangla and the one near Johnstone Higher Secondary School, was laid in January this year.
Today, steel tubulars assembled at Pune were brought and installed for the two superstructure.
The two meter broad foot bridge will be covered with a tensile membrane.
The two other foot bridges will also be constructed in a similar manner.
On the other hand, speaking about the National Highways of the State, Biswajit said that the pending tender for the construction of the 202 kilometre long road stretch from Finch Corner to Tengnoupal, along the Imphal-Ukhrul road, has been completed and necessary proposal has been sent to MoRTH.
While the DPR is being compiled, around Rs 180 crore has been sanctioned for improving the road condition. The tender process will be completed soon and the work will be initiated at the earliest, he said.
Biswajit continued that Rs 60 crore and Rs 30 crore have been put in the budget after consultation with the Ministry for improving the Canchipur-Lilong and the Tendongyan-Koubru Leikai roads along National Highway 39 respectively.
The said works were earlier handed over to a private firm but were stopped due to difference in the rate and lack of some items, the Minister explained.
Speaking about externally aided projects, Biswajit said that under the funding of the Asian Development Bank, steps are being taken up for the construction of Imphal Ring Road.
The earlier Government initiated the concept and also got the approval but was dropped after it failed to provide necessary land compensation.
The present Government, realising the importance of the project, is planning to initiate the work at the earliest.
The Minister assured that necessary and appropriate compensation will be provided and ADB and the State Government will sign an MoU in November regarding this project.
It is being calculated that the Imphal Ring Road will require around Rs 800 crore and if land compensation is included, the costs will come at around Rs 1180 crore, he said.
In a similar manner, elevated highway project, at the cost of Rs 2350 crore, is also being planned.
The highway will connect the front area near Manipur University with the area near airport and Koirengei and its junction will be at Nityaipat Chuthek.
Plans for extending the said highway to Imphal East are also being discussed and necessary tender for compiling the DPR has been completed, Biswajit informed.
The Minister further said that under Manipur State Roads Development Programme, Rs 2350 crore will be sanctioned for the development of the roads in the remote regions of the State.