Upendra Nath Behera, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on Sunday said he is hopeful that construction of the Gurupriya bridge in the cutoff areas of Chitrakonda in Malkangiri district would be completed before the schedule.
Behera, who visited the site on Sunday to take stock of the construction work progress, said, “There has been substantial progress in the construction work. While construction of the bridge is scheduled to be completed in September next year, I am hopeful that it would be completed before the schedule, considering the pace of the work.”
Asked whether the work would be hampered during the rainy season, Behera said the engineers engaged in the work asserted that there would be no problem and the work would also continue in full swing even during the rainy season.
Referring to the bending of pile no-13 of the bridge, he said the construction company has changed the design of this pile and would begin construction work soon.
“Construction of this pile would be taken up simultaneously with other construction work of the bridge,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Behera and Water Resources Secretary PK Jena, accompanied by the Malkangiri Collector and SP, arrived at Papermenta police station by a helicopter. From there, he went to the bridge construction site by a bike amid tight security by BSF personnel as the area is Maoist-affected.