Due to the inordinate delay in construction of the second Brahmani bridge, Rourkela MlA and senior BJP leader Dilip Ray has expressed his disappointment and shot off a letter to the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MRTH) Nitin Gadkari for expediting the project work.
In his letter, Ray mentioned that he shares the concern of the people of Sundargarh district and more specifically that of Rourkela over the Brahmani bridge issue and it is a matter of great disappointment personally for him. That is why, he has written a letter to Minister Gadkari reminding him of his address which he made to a gathering of thousands of peoples on July 21 i.e. on the day of laying down the foundation stone in which he had said that the work for the bridge would commence in 15 days.
The inordinate delay in the start of proposed work is creating an impression of Centre’s apathy towards the district among the masses, Ray said.
He also expressed that the Prime Minister had on two occasions (once as a Prime Minister candidate of BJP during election campaign and second time during his maiden visit to Rourkela as Prime Minister on April 1, 2015) committed to the people of Rourkela about the bridge, but even after almost three years, the project has witnessed no significant development, and such a lackadaisical attitude is bound to create a sense of frustration among the people. Such negligence is also not in line with the PM’s vision of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas,’ he said.
In his letter, he urged the Union Minister to direct the concerned officials to expedite the process and save him and the party from the humiliation.
It may be noted here that during the 2014 election campaign, the second Brahmani bridge was the focus of the BJP manifesto.
As the present bridge is in shaky condition, people of Rourkela are eagerly waiting for early construction of the second one.