Tinsukia: The Dibrugarh police on Monday arrested a survey engineer-cum-pipeline supervisor employed with a private company for his alleged negligence during road development work under AMRUT project, which led to the death of youth in a road accident.
The accused has been identified as Samir Sarkar, a resident of West Bengal.
The development came amid a huge public outcry following the death of a class XI student in Guwahati due to an open pit, dug by a construction company, to lay pipes for supply of drinking water without following safety protocols.
The incident prompted Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take action against the people responsible for the road accidents due to the dug-up pits on the road.
Notably, finding major lapses on the part of the authorities involved in the public works, Kamrup Metro District Administration, on June 11, released a helpline number where residents of Guwahati can share information regarding damaged roads/ open pits/ dugouts which need rectification and restoration.
According to police sources, the arrested survey engineer engaged by a private contractor was earlier picked up for questioning in connection with a case related to a road accident caused by an open pit. “Sarkar has been arrested for his alleged negligence which claimed the life of a person,” the source said.
Sources in the police said Sarkar has been charged under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code and will be produced before the court today.
On June 8, a day after the Guwahati accident, a youth identified as Abdul Rahim died after he fell from his scooty due to an open pit that was left unattended after it was dug by a private company for laying of pipes under Jeevan Mission (JJM) at Graham Bazar in Assam’s Dibrugarh town.
Meanwhile, immediately after CM Sarma stepped into the matter, deputy commissioners and police administration of various districts geared up and issued public appeals to give information related to roads dug and left open risking life of commuters, besides issuing letters to government agencies to take steps to clear roads filled with unwanted dumped construction material, causing much hindrance to public.
In Tinsukia, the traffic branch of Tinsukia police has issued a letter to the executive officer of Tinsukia Municipal Board requesting for removal of construction materials from roads in Tinsukia.
“It is state that materials for construction of drains, culverts, etc. are dumped over the roads by contractors which pave hindrance and obstruction to movement of vehicles and expose danger to road accidents. Such construction materials are dumped over the road as if the roads are closed for vehicular movement,” the letter, signed by a traffic inspector, read.
Earlier, CM Sarma held a video conferencing with all DCs of Assam and directed them to take strict action against the contractors or persons involved in keeping the dug-up pot holes open and unattended, thereby, causing hindrance to the public.
CM Sarma, taking serious note of the accident and the public outcry, has directed all the DCs to fix up all the dug-up pits across all the districts by Monday. “Someone has to take the responsibility; there is an incident of loss of life, a person has died, why was the contractor not arrested?” CM Sarma questioned Dibrugarh deputy commissioner Biswajit Pegu.
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The immediate effect of the Assam CM’s intervention has yielded results. Barricading was seen at a drain construction site at AT Road in Tinsukia, which otherwise was being carried out at the whims and fancy of the contractors without implementing safety protocols and leaving commuters navigate at their own risk.
Welcoming the developments, citizens have wondered why it took loss of two lives and intervention from the CM to awaken the system from hazards and dangers of dug-up pits left unattended and carrying out various government project works involving roads without maintaining any safety protocols.
“Isn’t it the duty of officials of the executing agency of government departments to ensure that works are done after following safety protocols? Will responsibility be ever fixed on the officials of the concerned agencies for the negligence on their part?” a citizen questioned.
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