After a gap of eight long years, the survey work for construction of a crucial bridge over river Gurupriya in Kudumulugumma block of Malkangiri district began on Wednesday.
The State Government had awarded the tender to Gamon India for construction of the proposed bridge in 2006. However, the company withdrew from the project before undertaking any construction work following frequent Maoist threats and attacks. After Gamon’s exit, the Government floated tender as many as nine times for construction of the bridge, but there were no takers for it solely due to the Maoist threat.
After failing in its effort, the Government approached the State-run Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation (OBCC) and even the Border Road Organisation (BRO) of the Defence Ministry, but they too expressed reluctance to take up the project.
However, at long last, after getting the approval of the Home Department, the Government has entrusted the construction work to the Kolkata-based Royal Infra Construction ltd, which began the survey work on Wednesday.
The cost of the 910-meter-long bridge has been estimated at `912 crore. The company has been asked to complete the construction work within two years. To ensure uninterrupted construction of the bridge, the State Government would deploy the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to provide security to the engineers and staff of the company. The bridge, after construction, would connect 140 cutoff villages of Janbai, Papermatla, Jodamba, Badapadara, Raleguda and Panasput panchayats under Kudumulugumma block in the district.
The geographical location of this cutoff area in the district, which borders Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with dense forest cover, has facilitated the Maoists to use it as a safe haven. The presence of the ultras and the absence of road communication have made it near impossible for the administration to carry out minimal development projects in the area, popularly referred to as the ‘cutoff area’.
However, there are still doubts over a successful completion of the bridge construction work in the next two years despite the security cover provided by the Central forces.